The Gauteng education department says it will complete a permanent school for 653 Umkhumbane Junior Secondary School pupils in Soshanguve by January 2027, after learners spent three years in mobile classrooms.
The promise, made by spokesperson Onwabile Lubhelwana on 11 September 2026, follows a Sowetan investigation exposing the school’s empty site and a pupil boycott that began on 31 August 2026.
“It has been three years as a learner at Umkhumbane, and for the last three years we were told we would have our own school but still nothing,” a Grade 10 pupil told the Sowetan.
The school, which operates entirely from nine mobile units at Ruabohlale Secondary School 3.8 km away, has no building, electricity, or toilets of its own.
Grade 10 learners attend daily, while Grades 8 and 9 alternate days, and one unit serves as a staff room, according to the department.
Lubhelwana said contractors are being appointed to finish construction before the December 2026 builders’ shutdown, aiming for occupation at the start of the next school year.
“The arrangement was intended to ensure pupils continued attending school and were taught by qualified teachers, rather than staying at home,” he stated.
CapeFlats.co.za journalists verified the department’s timeline and spoke to a parent who attended a meeting on 9 September.
“Officials gave an end-of-November deadline, but the department maintains January 2027 as the official target,” the parent said.
Staff members told the Sowetan the department has repeatedly responded with “14 days” whenever asked about progress over the past three years.
The school has already admitted about 300 new Grade 8 learners for 2027, according to staff, a claim the department has not confirmed.
Umkhumbane and Ruabohlale remain separate institutions with their own staff and uniforms, despite sharing premises.
The boycott, which saw pupils stay home for at least eight days, was condemned by Lubhelwana, who urged stakeholders to use existing structures rather than disrupting schooling.
Gauteng has a history of stalled school projects; a previous investigation found the province lost R1 billion on unfinished schools, with over 90 litigation cases worth about R2 billion.
It remains unclear whether the end-of-November deadline cited by parents is achievable, or if the department will meet its January 2027 target. CapeFlats.co.za will check back for updates when the builders’ shutdown begins in December.