MyZA

News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff

You are here: Home / News / Two years into her tenure, Gwarube faces a R140-billion school infrastructure crisis

Two years into her tenure, Gwarube faces a R140-billion school infrastructure crisis

Learners are moving from rural to urban areas

Declining numbers at rural Eastern Cape schools are partly linked to parents moving their children to cities, says Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks

South African schools face an infrastructure backlog of R140-billion, according to Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube.
In some rural areas schools are closing down because families are moving to cities.
In urban areas many schools face pressures on classroom space.

South Africa’s school infrastructure is caught in a double squeeze: shifting learner movements are leaving rural classrooms empty while urban demand outstrips space, according to Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube.
“We have an infrastructure backlog that is sitting at R140-billion,” she said in an interview, two years into her tenure…

Read More: Two years into her tenure, Gwarube faces a R140-billion school infrastructure crisis.

The #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd protests in South Africa highlighted local issues of police violence and
racism.

Category: Tag:

If you feel strongly about this article then feel free to send MyZA a ‘Letter to the Editor’ using the submission form below:

Letter to the Editor

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
If this is in response to an article please include that article title here or as the lead in for the first paragraph of your Letter below.

Separate tags with commas

Localise your letter by naming the city your words are about. Add relevant words describing your subject. Single comma separated words of no more than 5
Your Name(Required)
Your Name will be linked to the website below.
Your personal, business or social media web site
Choose NO to not set up a user account on MyZA. User Accounts will allow you to submit letters under your own Author Name

3 Latest Letters to the Editor:

  • NSFAS 2027 applications close on 31 October — SASSA households, apply now

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. NSFAS applications for the 2027 academic year close on Friday 31 October 2026, and no extension is expected. If your household receives a SASSA grant, your child already passes the NSFAS financial eligibility test — but they still have to…

  • Publish the Call, Then Publish the Grade

    Dear Editor, South African football fans argue about everything — lineups, referees, who should start up front. But there’s one argument we never have, because nobody gives us the numbers: were the predictions we read all week actually any good? I help run XG Mind AI, a small independent football data lab. Our rule is…

  • Don’t Ignore a SASSA Review Notice — It Is Not a Cancellation

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. SASSA has reminded beneficiaries that a grant review is not a cancellation. A review simply checks whether a beneficiary still meets the qualifying requirements — it can be triggered by a change in income, employment, marital status, address, contact details…

Reader Interactions

Comments