The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has raised alarm about the state of public education after releasing its 2025 school readiness report in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
The commission said after monitoring visits to schools in all nine provinces, it found many remain unsafe, under-resourced and unequal — despite years of promises and policy reforms.
The issue of infrastructure has been described as the most urgent national crisis. In provinces such as the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, inspectors found schools with broken windows, collapsing walls, asbestos classrooms and pit toilets still in use. Some buildings were described as dangerous to pupils’ safety and dignity.
In the Eastern Cape the situation is particularly dire. Schools such as Byletts Combined and St Matthew’s were found to have unsafe and neglected hostel facilities, with no adult supervision or designated staff.
The commission noted that in November 2024 a pupil was shot at Byletts Combined, an example of how unsafe some school environments have become.
Textbook and learning material shortages also remain a serious problem.
Education is a basic right, not a privilege. No child should have to learn in a place that endangers their life or strips them of their dignity
— SAHRC
While well-resourced urban schools such as Rondebosch Boys’ High and Hoërskool Strand in the Western Cape received the materials they needed, many rural and township schools were left without essential supplies.
Pupils in grades 8 and 9 in the North West, Gauteng and the Free State were among those of concern, with some schools reporting they still had not yet received textbooks weeks into the new term.
Hostel conditions were another major concern. The report found that many boarding facilities, particularly in no-fee rural schools, are in a state of decay. “Without dedicated budgets or personnel such as matrons, boarding masters or maintenance staff, thousands of learners are left unsupervised and exposed to risk,” it said
The commission urged the department of basic education to act urgently. It recommended:
- a national infrastructure audit and repair plan, focusing on schools still using pit latrines or built with asbestos; and
- an emergency review of boarding school conditions to ensure that hostels have proper budgets and staff within 60 days.
The SAHRC said the state of the country’s schools reflects not only a failure of service delivery but also a failure to uphold children’s constitutional rights.
“Education is a basic right, not a privilege. No child should have to learn in a place that endangers their life or strips them of their dignity.”
TimesLIVE
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