Children standing during classes, failed furniture delivery at Tembisa school exposed

'BREACH IN PUBLIC TRUST'

- MASABATA MKWANANZI [e-mail]

DUE to a severe lack of desks and chairs, children at Tembisa's Mpumelelo Primary School are reportedly forced to learn while standing.

Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane had pledged to deliver 25 foundation phase chairs and 50 intermediate phase chairs between March 3 and March 7, during a DA oversight visit in March.

However, Khathutshelo Rasilingwane, DA spokesperson for infrastructure development, said that when they returned to the school in October, they found learners still crammed onto broken furniture and others standing throughout lessons, with no sign of the promised desks and chairs, exposing what the party called a breach of public trust.

"We found children crammed onto broken, unsafe furniture, with no evidence that the promised desks and chairs ever arrived. This is not bureaucratic incompetence; it is a breach of public trust. This is a direct violation of Section 29 of the Constitution, which guarantees every child the right to basic education in safe conditions conducive to learning and teaching."