Education Department Pledges Fixes at Eqinisweni High After Years of Neglect

The Gauteng Department of Education has finally committed to addressing severe infrastructure problems at Eqinisweni High School in Ivory Park — a move ActionSA has welcomed as overdue but essential. The school, which has long struggled with overcrowded classrooms and unsafe facilities, is now set to receive mobile units and repairs after years of neglect.

This intervention follows a formal complaint submitted by ActionSA Gauteng MPL John Moodey earlier this year. In a letter sent to Education MEC Matome Chiloane in February, Moodey called for immediate and lasting action to resolve the collapsing infrastructure, which has made it nearly impossible for the school to provide a functional learning environment.

The school, located in Ekurhuleni, was originally designed to accommodate 1,600 learners but now holds approximately 2,700 students — nearly double its intended capacity. Despite this, no new infrastructure has been provided in the last five years, leaving the school overwhelmed and under-resourced.

In his letter, Moodey detailed the deteriorating conditions on campus, including overcrowded classrooms, broken prefab units, a shortage of desks, poor sanitation, and an underfunded school nutrition programme. He also warned that growing learner ill-discipline was a direct result of the environment’s poor state.

ActionSA called on the education department to urgently expand the school’s facilities and restore basic functionality. This includes delivering more classrooms, furniture, and resources to support both learning and discipline, while ensuring the school feeding scheme reaches all who rely on it.

In response, the department pledged to repair and replace damaged mobile classrooms and deliver ten new mobile units. Each of these classrooms will accommodate up to 50 learners, helping to ease the burden on existing infrastructure.

Moodey welcomed the move as an important step forward. “The department’s decision to initiate the repair and replacement of the broken mobile classrooms, as well as delivering what it said are 10 mobile classrooms that will each accommodate 50 learners, marks a crucial step towards ensuring that the learners at Eqinisweni High School can access a conducive learning environment,” he said.

He also reiterated that true educational reform starts with providing learners with a safe and supportive space. “Quality education requires a foundation of safe, functional, and supportive facilities, and we are encouraged to see this progress,” he added.

In addition to advocacy, ActionSA launched a clean-up initiative at the school to help improve the physical environment for students and staff.

Moodey confirmed that the party would continue to keep a close eye on developments at Eqinisweni High. “We remain committed to advocating for the betterment of public education infrastructure across Gauteng. We will be closely monitoring the ongoing work at Eqinisweni High School to ensure that the process is carried out with integrity, efficiency, and in the best interest of the learners,” he said.

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Sourced:Pretoria News