Pupils of Michael Denga Ramabulana High School in Maila are still receiving tuition while sitting on the floor, while others are being taught outside.

The pupils are studying under difficult conditions because the school is seriously overcrowded. The Grade 8 pupils are attending classes outside, while the other grades take turns being taught inside the classrooms. The school has a total enrolment of 840 and has only 12 classrooms.

The school's classrooms are supposed to accommodate between 40 and 50 pupils, but some of the classrooms are overflowing with more than 70 pupils. So little space is available that the teacher can barely fit in the gap between the pupils’ knees in the front row and the chalkboard. Pupils squash together next to the steel frames of what were once desks. Some use pieces of wood taken from broken desks or anything flat they can find as a surface to put their books on.

“All we need is classes and desks to accommodate our children,” said community member Ms Kutama Muthathedzwa. "We have applied many times to the department for classes, but our pleas have not yielded any fruits.” Muthathedzwa said that mobile classrooms could alleviate the situation as the lack of classrooms was a matter requiring urgent attention. “Either that, or else the government must build classes for our children."

She also said that teaching children outside put a lot of pressure on the teachers, since there were many things that could distract the pupils from learning. “It is quite shocking and disappointing to still find our children attending classes under a tree or sitting on the floor,” Muthathedzwa said. “We call upon the Department of Education to make an urgent intervention and build classrooms for our children. A nation that does not invest in the education of its children is a dying nation.”

The school also does not have toilets.

One of the pupils, Dakalo Mulaifa, said they were often tired because they had to stand for long periods while attending classes. He said the pupils studied under difficult conditions, citing the temperature in the classroom as one aspect. He said they also had to put their books on their laps to be able to write. “We cannot continue attending classes outside," he said. One of the parents threathened that if the department failed to deliver the necessary furniture, they were going to march to the department's office. He said the pupils would not be able to produce quality results if these conditions prevailed.

The principal of the school, Mr Patrick Mabogo, did not want to speak to the press.

The spokesperson for the Department of Education, Mr Paene Galane, said that there was a backlog in the department. He said that many schools around the province were running short of classes. He said that they had already submitted a report to the relevant department.