Learners at Elim High School say they are forced to relieve themselves in broken toilets without doors, cram into overcrowded classrooms, and study in unsafe conditions that have persisted for years. The school, which serves 2,029 learners from Grades 8 to 12, is the only high school in the area catering to both Xitsonga- and Tshivenda-speaking pupils.
Established in 1983 at the Elim Community Hall, the school relocated to its current site in 1989. It now has 14 permanent classrooms and several prefabricated units that were introduced years ago to ease overcrowding. However, some classes accommodate up to 82 learners, and pupils say the mobile structures are unbearably hot in summer and freezing in winter.
A block of seven classrooms is in disrepair, with broken doors, missing ceilings and holes in the floors. Some have no lighting and leak when it rains. The school has 10 toilets for learners — five for girls and five for boys — but none flush properly, and girls are forced to use buckets to dispose of waste.
Only two of the boys' toilets have doors, both of which are broken and riddled with holes. There are no handwashing facilities. "Most boys only urinate in the toilets because there's no privacy," said Grade 10 learner Minkheso Mudaka, who described the toilets as dehumanising.
He said learners often asked friends to stand guard while they relieved themselves. "Many classrooms are just as bad. Some buildings are falling apart. There are no lights, some rooms have no ceilings, and others leak when it rains."
Another learner, Mpho Mamela, said the boys' toilets were unhygienic. "We feel like we could get diseases from using them. We are calling on the education department to build proper toilets and classrooms."
The school applied for additional classrooms as far back as 2007, but nothing has materialised. School-governing-body chairperson Katekani Nabela said they urgently needed at least 20 more classrooms and additional toilets. "The biggest challenge is overcrowding," she said. Some classrooms are being used as storerooms or makeshift offices divided by boards.
Limpopo Department of Education spokesperson Mike Maringa told Limpopo Mirror that Elim High was one of 48 schools included in an infrastructure programme managed through the Independent Development Trust (IDT), with Isago Architects appointed as the professional service provider. He confirmed that new sanitation facilities are part of the project.
He said the school recently received four toilet seats and two urinals donated for the 60 teachers, who previously shared just two toilets. The donation was made by local businessman Jones Mulaudzi, managing director of Kingpin Financial Services.
Asked why sanitation for learners was not prioritised, Maringa said new toilets would be built in line with national norms and standards for school infrastructure, based on enrolment figures.
He said the project had an initial budget of R50 million and was in the planning phase, having passed stage two. "Construction will commence once stage four is approved and a contractor is appointed in the third quarter of the next financial year," he said.