Overcrowding a real problem

NON-PROFIT organisation Equal Education (EE) has launched its #NoSpaceForUs campaign on overcrowding in Gauteng’s schools.

The NPO said the initative was rooted in research that EE conducted between September 2019 and June last year, in nine schools in Etwatwa, Ekurhuleni.

The EE collected data on 751 classes, measured and inspected 105 classrooms and interviewed 51 school community members

“Our campaign aims to provide insight into what overcrowding is in a South African context, whether Gauteng schools are overcrowded, and what the causes and effects of overcrowding are,” EE said. The research resulted in a written report: “No Space For Us: Understanding Overcrowding in Gauteng’s Schools”.

According to the NPO, official data showed that of the nine Etwatwa schools that were part of their research, none had classes with too many learners, only 35% of teachers were overworked, and only five of the nine schools had a classroom shortage.

The EE said, however, that their findings show a very different reality.

Research showed that all of the nine schools in their study had classes with too many learners, 74% of classes had over 40 learners, seven out of the nine schools had at least 15% more than the building was designed to hold, 66% of the classroom buildings were too small for the number that they held, 82% of the classroom buildings had too little furniture for the number of learners inside and 65% of the teachers were overworked.