18 March 2026
Community Forum member Bongani Mthanti lifts up the school’s signage board which is used to cover holes in the floor of one of the prefabricated classrooms at Babanango Primary School in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Photos: Bongane Motaung
Babanango Primary School in rural KwaZulu-Natal has been closed since Monday because of a protest by parents and learners. They want the provincial education department to build a new school.
School governing body (SGB) chairperson Zakhlele Ntombela said the school has 16 prefabricated classrooms, with some classes having to accommodate more than 50 learners. The classrooms are more than 10 years old and have holes in the floors and ceilings.
Ntombela said education MEC Peggy Nkonyeni and officials had visited the school in 2013 and promised a new school. But the promise had not been kept.
The toilets often overflow with sewage, forcing learners and teachers to relieve themselves at neighbouring homes or in the bush around the school.
On Monday, parents and learners closed the school and demanded it remain closed until education officials meet with them.
In a bid to end the protest, officials from the public works department came to inspect the school’s toilets. They told the SGB that the pipes had not been properly installed and the sewage was not flowing correctly into the three septic tanks. They promised to fix the toilets.
The Department of Education did not respond to GroundUp’s questions despite several attempts, but parents say they have been promised a meeting with officials soon.
Parents have been protesting outside the school’s white prefab buildings since Monday. They say the classrooms are broken and overcrowded.
