BUSHBUCKRIDGE, Mpumalanga — A severe classroom shortage at Hundzukani Primary School in Bushbuckridge has left more than 500 learners navigating extreme overcrowding, following the provincial education department’s delayed delivery of promised mobile classrooms. With seven dilapidated structures recently demolished, students are now forced to share just five or six remaining classrooms, prompting an official apology from department spokesperson Gerald Sambo over the procurement setbacks.
Established in 1968 by local parents, the 58-year-old Bushbuckridge institution recently became the focus of an urgent infrastructure assessment. Engineers dispatched by the provincial education department determined that a block of seven classrooms was in a dilapidated state and on the brink of collapse. While community members had previously protested the school’s deteriorating conditions, officials clarified that the evaluation was part of a broader, ongoing infrastructure development program covering 61 schools across the province, rather than a direct reaction to the demonstrations.
The department had committed to installing temporary mobile classrooms before the official reopening of schools this week. However, when learners returned on Tuesday, the facilities were absent. This administrative and procurement delay has resulted in severe congestion, with an estimated 80 to 90 learners packed into each of the available classrooms, creating an environment that parents and educators argue is deeply unconducive to effective teaching and learning.
Addressing the community’s frustration, Gerald Sambo, spokesperson for the provincial education department, issued a formal apology for the disruption. Sambo emphasized that learner safety was the non-negotiable priority behind the demolitions. He explained that while the mobile units were intended to be ready for the first day of the term, standard procurement protocols caused an unavoidable bottleneck. He assured parents that the acquisition process is now in an advanced stage and the temporary structures will be deployed imminently.
To contextualize the solution, Sambo highlighted that the department has allocated 1.9 billion in the current financial year to tackle similar infrastructure deficits. Of this, 301 million is specifically earmarked for urgent projects at schools facing critical conditions. Because of the complexity of these challenges, the remediation will be executed in phases over multiple years. This long-term strategy includes constructing new classroom blocks, replacing other aging buildings, and developing additional facilities, including a new specialized center for the school.
Despite the current hardships, Sambo commended the school’s Governing Body (SGB) for their steadfast cooperation throughout the assessment and demolition phases. The department maintains that while the temporary overcrowding is regrettable, removing the unsafe structures was an absolute necessity to protect the lives of the learners at Hundzukani Primary School until the mobile classrooms arrive.
