A registered school with 653 enrolled learners has no building, no electricity and no toilets of its own, three years after it opened on paper in Soshanguve.
Umkhumbane Junior Secondary School exists only as nine mobile classrooms squeezed onto the grounds of Ruabohlale Secondary School, 3.8 km from its designated empty plot, a Sowetan investigation first revealed on Monday.
Learners have been boycotting classes for eight days, demanding an end to the overcrowded conditions and the rotation system that forces Grade 8 and 9 pupils to attend on alternate days.
The Gauteng education department acknowledged the disruption and said the permanent school will be finished before the December builders’ break, with a handover targeted for January 2027.
“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 learner told Sowetan.
She described constant bullying by host-school pupils, restricted movement, and having to pay R2 to use the toilet.
Parents who met department officials on Wednesday said they were told construction at the Umkhumbane site would conclude by the end of November.
“Our children are tired now; they feel like they are on lockdown at the Ruabohlale premises,” one parent said. “We are in support of them staying away.”
Onwabile Lubhelwana, spokesperson for the education MEC, confirmed the department was engaging families to restore teaching but condemned the boycott.
“We strongly condemn the disruption of schools and urge all stakeholders to use available structures to raise issues of concern,” Lubhelwana said.
He stated that the department is appointing contractors to complete outstanding work and that Ruabohlale’s mobile units were always an interim measure.
The school has already admitted about 300 new Grade 8 learners for 2027, according to staff, and plans to add Grade 11 next year despite having no permanent facility.
Gauteng’s school infrastructure crisis extends far beyond Soshanguve: nearly R1 billion was lost on stalled or abandoned projects as of early 2026, with only two completed schemes out of dozens.
Contractor cash-flow problems and a financial crisis at the provincial infrastructure department have left multiple communities waiting, straining relations with the education department.
The timetable for Umkhumbane’s completion depends on a verbal promise to parents and a department assurance, with no independent monitoring report released to confirm progress on the site.