Important South African school falling apart with broken windows, leaking roofs, and no electricity in classrooms

Villa Lisa Secondary School, which has 2,068 learners, is falling apart, with holes in the floors, broken windows, leaking roofs, and no electricity in the classrooms.

Villa Lisa Secondary School is a public secondary school in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng.

The school accommodates 2,068 learners across 47 classrooms, many of which are mobile structures reportedly dating back to 2012.

It operates with around 50 to 60 teachers, maintaining a learner-to-teacher ratio of approximately 34:1.

Despite its importance in the region, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) failed to maintain basic school infrastructure.

The department also did not provide the resources needed to ensure a safe and conducive learning environment.

An oversight visit by the Democratic Alliance revealed that mobile classrooms are run-down and the school has inadequate ablution facilities.

It further found that there was no electricity in the classrooms and a severe shortage of furniture to serve learners and teachers.

Sergio Isa Dos Santos, a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, said that most classrooms are in disrepair.

“There are holes in floors, broken windows, leaking roofs, damaged door frames, and panels falling apart. Classrooms have no firefighting equipment,” he said.

“Villa Lisa Secondary School learners are being forced to learn in unsafe and undignified conditions.”

He added that there is a shortage of furniture and that the school requires between 800 and 950 additional desks and chairs.

“In one Grade 9 class, 48 learners have only 16 chairs, while another class of 53 learners has just 15 tables,” he said.

“The toilets, where a sexual assault involving two boys and a girl reportedly occurred, are broken and offer no privacy.”

Dos Santos said that despite having a suitable space for permanent infrastructure at the school, learners are still forced to learn in deteriorating mobile classrooms.

He said that the DA will submit written questions to Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile about the situation.

“We want to know why the school has been allowed to deteriorate and what measures the department will implement to address the situation,” he said.

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Villa Lisa Secondary School photos

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