‘MiDesk wheelie bags are innovative’: Gwarube won’t fold as desks draw backlash

Minister of basic education Siviwe Gwarube says the department is reviewing guidelines on branding of donated goods in schools following public backlash over the MiDesk wheelie schoolbags.

The department recently announced the donation of foldable desks to Saint Paul’s Primary School in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town — an initiative that sparked widespread criticism, with many seeing it as a symbol of inequality rather than a solution.

Speaking to journalists at the 2025 Basic Education Sector Lekgotla in Gauteng, Gwarube acknowledged the severe resource constraints in education, saying: “The statistics reveal that about 2.4-million pieces of furniture are still needed in our public schools. These shortages stem from financial constraints. In this case, the community invited us to acknowledge a local businessman who had procured the MiDesks from McDonald’s.”

She admitted that the donation raised concerns about branding in schools, prompting a discussion within the department. “This has sparked a lot of conversation around branding of furniture, particularly whether or not this should be allowed in schools. I think that's a conversation we are having internally,” she said.

Despite the controversy, Gwarube defended public-private partnerships, stressing the urgent need for corporate investment in education.

“We are relying more and more on corporate partners to help us meet the needs of 13.5-million learners.”

Regarding the MiDesks themselves, she noted that they were approved by Unesco and offered practical benefits:

“They weigh just two kilograms, and Unesco has indicated that this is absolutely appropriate. Not every child has to take the desk home — some may leave them at school, where they convert into school bags.”

She also highlighted the reality for many children without proper study spaces at home.

“What is important to me is that there are children in this country who go home to places where they don’t even have a space to do their homework.”

The innovation behind MiDesk, she added, was recognised by the department of science and technology.

I promise you, if you are a child from Mqanduli, living in a small house with no place to do your homework, you would appreciate being able to have one of these

—  Siviwe Gwarube, minister of basic education 

“I promise you, if you are a child from Mqanduli, living in a small house with no place to do your homework, you would appreciate being able to have one of these.”

In her address, Gwarube acknowledged the growing financial constraints affecting education, making it difficult to expand infrastructure, recruit teachers and improve learning resources.

“Provinces have retained the same basket of posts for the past 5 to 10 years while the number of learners has increased. This has led to the teacher-to-learner ratio trending in the wrong direction, threatening learning outcomes.”

Gwarube also reflected on the difficulties of governing under the government of national unity (GNU), where multiple political parties must find common ground.

“Bringing together 10 different political parties, each with its own value system, priorities and interests, has required unprecedented political maturity, resilience and adaptability.”

“Governing under such conditions is no small task,” she added.

Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa, addressing the lekgotla, acknowledged the country’s failure to lay a solid foundation for learning, despite celebrating a record-breaking matric pass rate in 2024.

“Three decades into democracy, South Africa’s education system is still struggling to build a strong foundation for learning,” he admitted.

He highlighted alarming statistics from the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, which found that more than 80% of grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning.

South Africa also continues to rank among the lowest globally in mathematics and science performance. “Not having mastered basic skills in reading and maths at foundation level sets the tone for how a learner will perform in high school and beyond,” Ramaphosa said.

The president warned that while the world is moving ahead with education models tailored for the digital economy, South Africa is still playing catch-up.

“The World Economic Forum’s ‘Future of Jobs Report’ highlights the rapid rise of AI-driven professions, yet our schools are still struggling to equip pupils with even the most basic skills.”

He urged curriculum reforms to prepare learners for a rapidly evolving economy, criticising the country’s slow response to much-needed changes.

“Our education system needs to be responsive to the evolving skills needs of the economy. Yet here we are in 2025, still debating reforms that could have fundamentally transformed South Africa’s economic and social trajectory had they been aggressively implemented in the 1990s.”

With mounting financial constraints, a fragile coalition government and growing concerns over education quality, the 2025 lekgotla has laid bare the deep-rooted challenges in South Africa’s schooling system.

While corporate partnerships like MiDesk offer short-term relief, long-term structural reforms remain elusive — leaving the country at a critical crossroads in education.