By Levy Masiteng

A case of malicious damage to property has been opened at Alexandra Police Station after four desks and two chairs were destroyed by fire at Eastbank High School in Alexandra, Gauteng.

The incident, which took place on Tuesday, disrupted teaching and learning at the already overcrowded school, prompting Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile to condemn the destruction of school property.

Learners at Eastbank High School in Alexandra were sent home early after some pupils allegedly tried to set the school alight using old furniture. Learners say they were battling the cold due to broken classroom windows, while the school reportedly also faces damaged… pic.twitter.com/z0YlDC1hBO

— BEAST OF NEWS (@EversonLuhanga) August 11, 2026

According to the Gauteng Department of Education, a preliminary report indicated that the furniture was destroyed by fire on the school premises.

Maile said the school would institute disciplinary proceedings against learners identified in connection with the incident.

“We are deeply disappointed and disturbed by what has happened at Eastbank High School. There is absolutely no excuse for burning education infrastructure, learning materials or furniture,” said Maile.

“We cannot complain about shortages today and destroy the very same scarce resources tomorrow. Every desk and every chair matters, particularly in a school already experiencing severe pressure on its available resources.”

ALSO READ: KZN schools urged to make mental health awareness part of school culture

The incident came as Eastbank High grapples with major resource and capacity challenges.

According to the department, the school was built to accommodate about 1,200 learners but currently has 2,063, meaning it is accommodating 863 more learners than it was designed for.

The furniture shortage is equally severe, with the school reporting a need for about 1,200 desks and 600 chairs.

The department said it has already delivered 1,000 chairs and 150 desks during 2026, bringing the total furniture delivered this year to 1,150 pieces.

Despite this intervention, significant shortages remain.

“When a school tells us it needs another 1,200 desks and approximately 600 chairs, burning four desks and two chairs cannot be dismissed as an insignificant act,” Maile said.

“Six pieces of furniture destroyed means six resources have been removed from an already constrained school environment. Government must now replace resources that should still have been available to learners. This cycle of destruction and replacement is unsustainable.”

The department has also responded to reports that the furniture was burned because learners were cold due to broken classroom windows.

It said all windows at the school had been repaired during the previous year and that the school started the 2026 academic year without broken windows.

The school has since reported that approximately 60 windows require repairs following recent learner damage.

ALSO READ: Mlambo-Ngcuka to address summit on digital influence and young voters

The department also said extensive repairs to doors were carried out about three months ago, but eight doors currently require further repairs.

“We started the academic year with the windows repaired. Today, we are again confronted with approximately 60 windows requiring attention,” said Maile.

“We repaired doors three months ago, and eight doors again require repairs. This cannot become a revolving door where government and schools continuously spend limited public money repairing the same infrastructure because it is repeatedly damaged.”

Maile called on School Governing Bodies to strengthen the management of resources and ensure routine maintenance is dealt with before problems become more expensive.

“We cannot have schools struggling indefinitely with simple maintenance matters where resources and responsibilities exist at school level. SGBs have an important governance responsibility. They must budget properly, prioritise maintenance and ensure that the resources entrusted to schools are managed prudently,” he said.

The department said it would continue working with the school leadership and SGB to address the immediate furniture shortages, maintenance problems and overcrowding.

It will also cooperate with SAPS in the malicious damage to property investigation and ensure disciplinary processes are followed against learners implicated in the incident.

The department said counselling and support structures had also been activated following the death of a popular teacher at the school.

“We understand that learners are grieving. We understand the pain associated with losing a teacher who played such an important role in their lives. We will support them through that grief. But grief cannot become a licence to destroy,” Maile said.

“We must end this culture of hooliganism. We will acknowledge our shortcomings and fix what government is responsible for fixing. We expect SGBs to fulfil their responsibilities. But we equally expect learners, parents and communities to protect what belongs to them,” Maile said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

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By Thapelo Molefe

Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile has ordered an urgent investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct involving educators and learners at Curtis Nkondo School of Specialisation in Emdeni, Soweto.

The Gauteng Department of Education said the investigation would establish the number of formal complaints lodged against educators, the nature of the allegations, when they were reported, and what action was taken by school and district officials.

The move follows a complaint involving a Grade 11 learner who allegedly received an inappropriate sexual remark from an educator during the second term.

According to information formally submitted by the school, the principal referred the complaint to the Johannesburg Central District Dispute Management Office on Friday, and requested urgent intervention.

The learner provided a written account of the alleged interaction, while another learner who said she was present submitted a statement that substantially supported the allegation.

The educator has denied making inappropriate remarks and provided his own account of what happened during a subsequent engagement at the principal’s office.

The department said it was also investigating broader concerns raised by learner formations and members of the school community that other educators could be implicated in separate allegations involving learners.

However, it stressed that claims about the number of educators allegedly implicated had not been established as fact.

“We are dealing with extremely serious allegations. Schools must be places of safety, learning and development. No educator or official has the right to use a position of authority to sexually harass, exploit, intimidate or violate a learner,” Maile said.

“Equally, no person entrusted with a complaint from a learner has the right to sweep it under the carpet. We will establish the facts and act decisively wherever wrongdoing is established.”

The investigation will also examine claims that complaints involving inappropriate conduct may date back to 2022.

The department said it would examine school and district records to establish whether complaints were lodged during that period, who received them, how they were processed and whether officials acted in accordance with their responsibilities.

Maile has directed the department to establish whether other learners have raised similar allegations and whether these matters were previously brought to the attention of school management or departmental officials.

Where evidence shows that a complaint concerning a learner’s safety was reported and an official failed to act, attempted to conceal it, discouraged reporting or neglected their responsibility to protect learners, the department said appropriate action would be taken.

The department will also determine whether precautionary measures are required against any implicated employees while the investigation and applicable employment processes are underway.

It stressed that such measures, where warranted, would be intended to protect learners and the integrity of the investigation and would not amount to a finding of guilt.

The department said it was particularly concerned about the possibility that learners could fear intimidation, retaliation or not being believed when reporting sexual harassment or other misconduct.

“Every learner who comes forward must therefore be treated with dignity, sensitivity and confidentiality. No learner should be victimised for reporting alleged misconduct or assisting an investigation,” it said.

The department also pointed to previous psychosocial interventions at Curtis Nkondo School of Specialisation.

In April 2026, a departmental psychosocial team visited the school following the death of a Grade 12 learner. Learners received psychoeducation and opportunities to discuss their experiences.

During that intervention, learners reportedly expressed a need for educators to receive similar support and said they sometimes felt misunderstood or dismissed.

Maile said this highlighted the need for schools to create environments where learners can report concerns and expect adults to respond.

“We must build a culture in every school where a child can report something uncomfortable or inappropriate without fear. The first responsibility of adults in our schools is to protect children,” he said.

“We will listen to the learners, parents and learner formations, we will examine the records, and we will hold accountable anyone against whom wrongdoing is established through a fair process.”

The department called on parents, learners, learner formations, educators and others with relevant information to cooperate with the investigation and formally report additional allegations.

It also urged the public and media to protect the identities of affected learners and avoid publishing information that could directly or indirectly identify them.

“We will neither protect perpetrators nor prejudge allegations. Our responsibility is to protect learners, establish the truth, and ensure accountability. Every learner who enters a Gauteng school must know that their dignity, safety, and right to education are non-negotiable,” Maile said.

INSIDE EDUCATION 

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By Charmaine Ndlela

Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile has warned municipalities that schools disconnected over unpaid electricity bills must be reconnected immediately or the provincial government will consider legal action.

Speaking during a media briefing on Monday following the conclusion of the Gauteng government’s “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child” outreach programme, Maile described the disconnection of schools as “reckless” and “irresponsible”, saying municipalities should not treat schools as easy targets for revenue collection.

“We are warning the municipalities for the last time today, whatever school that is disconnected must be connected immediately,” Maile said.

“If they don’t do that, we are going to explore our legal options because you can’t disconnect schools.”

Maile said the department provides schools with funding to pay for water and electricity, but acknowledged that the money available to individual schools is limited.

He said the department was considering centralising the payment function and taking it back from schools, while also exploring a public-private partnership model and the possibility of taking schools off the electricity grid.

The MEC said some schools had complained about being overcharged by municipalities, while others had struggled to obtain electricity meters.

“The department doesn’t have the money. The money that is there is with the schools. And even that money with the schools is limited,” he said.

The issue forms part of a broader crisis around municipal services affecting schools.

The province’s post-consultative report found that communities repeatedly raised concerns about unreliable water supplies, electricity interruptions, poor roads, illegal dumping and other municipal failures affecting learning environments.

School safety

School safety also emerged as a major concern during the briefing, with Maile revealing that the department is reviewing its seven-pillar school safety strategy while intensifying search-and-seizure operations.

The department said it had already conducted raids, including at Badirile Secondary School in Carletonville and schools in Orange Farm.

Maile said the operations would continue through both announced and unannounced raids as the province attempts to curb weapons, drugs, crime and violence in schools.

“We are very concerned about crime and violence in schools,” he said.

The department said it is spending R165 million on the deployment of school patrollers and is working with the Department of Community Safety on traffic wardens, while relying on the South African Police Service to respond to criminal activity.

But Maile said the education department could not afford to divert money from teaching and learning to fund extensive security deployments.

“We’ve got schools that are not having desks, that are not having chairs. Shortages of Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM), shortages of educators. Whatever money we have, we have to prioritise those,” he said.

The province’s outreach findings reinforced the seriousness of the problem, with communities consistently raising concerns about crime, violence, bullying, gangsterism, substance abuse, vandalism, weapons and gender-based violence.

Gauteng is also considering a technology-driven overhaul of school security.

About 600 schools have already had cameras installed, but the department wants surveillance cameras eventually installed in all schools.

The long-term plan includes biometric or facial-recognition access for learners and educators, cameras covering classrooms and school perimeters, tighter access control and armed-response systems linked to police stations.

Maile pointed to an incident in Alexandra in which criminals allegedly entered a school despite the presence of an unarmed guard as evidence of weaknesses in the current system.

He said the department was considering implementing the measures through a public-private partnership model.

“These are big ideas that we’re working on, but these are the issues which will require money,” Maile said.

The province’s broader school-safety strategy is based on the understanding that security cannot be addressed by schools alone.

Its post-consultative report calls for stronger partnerships between schools, SAPS, municipalities, parents, communities and other stakeholders.

R27bn infrastructure backlog

While security remains an immediate concern, Maile said the province’s biggest challenge is the scale of its infrastructure needs.

The department estimates that R27 billion is required to address occupational health and safety concerns across its school buildings.

Another R35 billion is needed to build 200 additional schools.

“We need R27 billion to deal with occupational health and safety. We need R35 billion to build more schools. So, we need money, and that’s the problem,” Maile said.

The MEC said the department was prioritising schools facing emergencies, particularly those that are no longer habitable, while searching for alternative ways of raising funding.

The infrastructure pressure is compounded by shortages of desks and chairs, with Maile warning that learners in some schools are even fighting over limited furniture.

He said schools receive funding for maintenance, with about 12% allocated towards infrastructure maintenance.

The provincial outreach programme similarly identified overcrowding, classroom shortages, delayed maintenance and deteriorating infrastructure as recurring concerns across communities.

Gauteng also faces a major backlog in sports infrastructure.

Responding to concerns about deteriorating sporting facilities at schools, Maile said the province would need R600 million to provide sports facilities at every school.

“We need R600 million to ensure that there is sports facility in every school. R600 million. So, we don’t have it,” he said.

Admissions and overcrowding

The growing pressure on Gauteng’s schools is also reflected in online admissions.

At the time of the briefing, approximately 451,000 applications had already been recorded, including 105,786 Grade 8 applications and 93,864 Grade 1 applications.

Maile said the increasing number of learners would require not only additional schools and furniture, but also more teachers.

But he was unequivocal that overcrowding at a preferred school should never result in a child being left without education.

“If a school you want is full, over-subscribed, it doesn’t mean the child must stay at home,” he said.

“No child must stay at home. Every child must be in a school.”

Maile said the department would rather place a learner in a school further from home and address the resulting pressure on resources than allow that learner to remain outside the education system.

“Every child must be in class. Every child must be in schools,” he said.

The province’s post-consultative report identifies overcrowding and learner placement as major challenges driven partly by Gauteng’s population growth and migration into the province.

To help address the infrastructure backlog, Maile announced that Gauteng would soon launch an “Adopt a School” campaign aimed at mobilising businesses and other partners to assist schools.

He said he had already been approached by potential partners, including an individual prepared to assist about 15 schools in Katlehong.

The campaign will prioritise urgent needs such as ablution facilities, classrooms and damaged ceilings.

Maile said the initiative would allow government to work with partners to tackle infrastructure challenges that the provincial budget cannot address on its own.

Skills and education pathways

Maile also outlined plans to expand a multi-certification programme that could allow learners to obtain practical qualifications while still at school.

He said the department wants learners to have opportunities to obtain certificates in areas such as plumbing, electrical work and swimming alongside their academic studies.

The aim is to move beyond certificates that have little value in the labour market towards accredited qualifications that could provide learners with employment opportunities even if they do not complete matric.

“If that child was not to finish matric, they could still go get work and all that,” Maile said.

The department is also focusing on STEM subjects, including mathematics, science, technology and accounting, while strengthening teaching in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) and foundation phases.

Maile said the province was also expanding opportunities in arts, culture and sport for learners who may not follow traditional academic pathways.

Outreach programme

Launched in May 2026, the “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child” programme aimed to create direct engagement between government, communities and education stakeholders.

Between May and July, provincial departments planned 127 engagements and institutional visits and completed 90.

These included 41 community meetings, 25 unannounced school visits and 24 sports hub visits, reaching 11,294 people through direct engagements.

The programme’s educational communication platforms generated more than 10.2 million views and impressions and more than 90,000 direct online interactions.

Maile urged communities to help protect schools from vandalism and criminality, called on parents to remain actively involved in their children’s education, and encouraged businesses to contribute to education and skills development.

He also urged young people to reject violence, drugs and gangsterism.

INSIDE EDUCATION

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By Lebone Rodah Mosima

The Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation has warned learners against making fires on school premises in an attempt to keep warm, as cold and wet weather conditions continued to sweep through Gauteng on Tuesday.

Lebogang Maile said that open fires posed a serious safety risk and could result in burns, structural fires, damage to school infrastructure, and potentially life-threatening incidents.

He also urged parents, guardians, educators, and school communities to take necessary precautions against the cold conditions.

The Gauteng Department of Education said some of the coldest conditions this week were expected across Johannesburg and surrounding areas, including Soweto, Roodepoort, Randburg, and other parts of the West Rand.

The department said cold conditions were also expected across Ekurhuleni and Tshwane, while parts of Sedibeng and the Vaal were expected to experience cool to cold conditions.

It said rain, cloud cover and wind could make temperatures feel considerably colder in affected areas.

It said it would continue monitoring South African Weather Service (SAWS) information and urged school communities to similarly pay attention to official weather updates.

Maile told parents and guardians to ensure that learners were appropriately dressed before leaving home for school.

“Schools must exercise reasonable consideration where learners need additional warm clothing because of the weather. Our priority is to keep learners safe, warm, and in the classroom,” he added.

He said that the cold weather should not unnecessarily interrupt teaching and learning.

He said that learners who are healthy and not sick are encouraged to attend school as normal, unless the department or relevant authorities officially communicate otherwise.

“Cold weather on its own should not keep our children away from school,” he said.

“As long as learners are not sick and it is safe for them to travel, we encourage them to dress warmly and attend school. Every school day and every hour of teaching and learning matters.”

“Learners must never start fires in classrooms, toilets, corridors, school grounds, or anywhere within school premises,” he said.

“Principals, educators, and School Governing Bodies must remain vigilant and ensure that learners keep warm through safe and responsible means.”

He also said parents and learners were urged to exercise additional caution while travelling to and from school, particularly during rainfall, reduced visibility, slippery roads or other hazardous conditions.

INSIDE EDUCATION

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Approximately three-quarters of 393 preschool and K-12 teachers in the U.S. say they use YouTube for instructional purposes, with roughly half using it on a daily or weekly basis, according to our new nationally representative survey.

Those findings come from our new research, published in June 2026 in Educational Researcher, an academic journal.

Our sample included teachers from all grade levels and subject areas, and from across public, charter and private schools.

Our results revealed that teachers who said they use YouTube as an instructional tool do so for a considerable amount of classroom time, alongside other common teaching methods like lectures and group work.

Of the 76.5% of respondents who said they use YouTube for teaching, an average of 17.9% of their total yearly instructional time was spent showing instructional videos, ranging from 1% to 100% of instructional time.

Rather than allowing students to watch videos on their own devices, most teachers reported showing videos on a big screen to the entire class. This might include showing a classic 20-minute episode of “Bill Nye the Science Guy” or a 5-minute “PragerU Kids” video, made by a conservative media nonprofit.

Respondents said they use both of those video sources, alongside a number of other content creators featured on YouTube.

In our other study, which is still under review with an academic journal, we saw some small differences in teachers’ use of YouTube across grade levels – with pre-K teachers reporting being slightly less inclined than other teachers to use instructional videos to support their teaching.

But these differences were not statistically significant, suggesting that YouTube is used more or less at the same frequency by pre-K through 12th grade teachers.

Why it matters

There is growing concern among parents about the amount of time their children spend watching YouTube at school, leading some school districts to ban the platform on student devices outright.

While the debate over screen time has primarily focused on students’ personal use, there has been less focus on how teachers are using the platform as part of their lessons.

YouTube is not specifically designed for educational purposes, and its algorithm that recommends content tends to prioritize increasing user watch time over providing material that may be best for learning.

There are some teacher-trusted educational channels hosted on YouTube, such as “Khan Academy” and “Crash Course.” which offer a host of explanatory videos on numerous subjects ranging from math to social studies.

But just about anyone can create and upload content to YouTube.

Prior research indicates that teachers are relying more on digital online resources found on sites like Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest than they once did. This work suggests that traditional curricular resources, such as textbooks, are playing a less prominent role determining what information is presented to students.

Our research suggests that pre-K through 12th grade teachers widely use YouTube as a staple of classroom instruction – not as an occasional supplement.

What still isn’t known

While research from Spain and Australia suggests that educators are not always rigorous in screening the YouTube videos they use for teaching, what is still unknown is the exact YouTube videos and content creators that teachers are relying on when they present information to students.

Nor do we know the impact that using instructional videos has on student learning. Given the widespread adoption of YouTube videos by K-12 and preschool teachers, it is becoming increasingly critical to understand the educational value that these video resources offer.

THE CONVERSATION

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Early childhood is an important stage when children develop curiosity, values and problem-solving skills. This developmental window provides a strong foundation for lifelong learning, making it an ideal entry point for introducing key concepts such as environmental stewardship, cultural identity and social responsibility.

That is the idea behind ReneWable Rangers, a learning game prototype that uses play, storytelling and adventure to teach young children about science and renewable energy.

The game contributes to the ongoing conversation about developing educational approaches that are equitable, locally relevant and globally conscious. 

Moleboheng Mokhele, an innovative early childhood STEM education researcher, unpacks the findings of her co-authored conceptual paper on how ReneWable Rangers can serve as a model for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education.

Why focus on play-based learning?

Global challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss and resource depletion, force a rethink of how to prepare the next generation. These issues are not far away from children’s lives.

Education holds a responsibility. Early childhood – from birth to 8 years old – is a stage where children develop values and problem-solving skills. It is marked by rapid cognitive growth, heightened curiosity, and an increasing awareness of the world around them.

However, much of STEM learning in South Africa, particularly science, is introduced as a standalone subject only in Grade 4. This delay misses early developmental windows for critical thinking. It creates a gap between what children learn at school and what they experience at home and in their communities.

My research focuses on how early STEM education can be made more meaningful, engaging and inclusive for children. Children learn best when they are having fun, asking questions, and actively taking part in what they are learning.

That is the idea behind Renewable Rangers, an educational game that uses play, storytelling, guided inquiry, physical activity and visual learning to help young children learn about science and renewable energy in a fun, meaningful and age-appropriate way.

What is ReneWable Rangers and what are its objectives?

In many cases, STEM education remains focused mainly on technical skills and academic achievement. As a result it does not fully prepare children for the environmental, cultural and ethical challenges they will face in life.

Our conceptual paper responds to this gap. The play-based educational initiative aims to show how playful, inclusive and culturally meaningful learning can better prepare children to understand global challenges, value their local contexts, and see themselves as active agents of change for a more sustainable future.

The game follows me, Dr Mummy Ranger, and my two sons, Wavhudi and Rivhavhudi, as we travel across South Africa on a mission to help restore electricity in the country after a nationwide blackout. We journey in our eco-friendly Ranger vehicle, bringing hope to communities and inspiring children to become young renewable energy heroes.

Since 2007, South Africa has experienced ongoing electricity shortages stemming from inadequate generation capacity, ageing infrastructure and poor maintenance. Although nationwide load shedding has decreased in recent years, many communities still experience localised power outages caused by network problems.

As the characters move from one province to another, they learn about different renewable energy sources found in each region, such as solar and wind power. They also explore the diverse cultures, languages and ways of life in each province. Each province becomes a meaningful learning space where STEM concepts are connected to real-life experiences in a fun and engaging way.

Along the way, children learn:

• how electricity is made
• what causes power cuts
• how we can use renewable energy sources

This is achieved through stories and hands-on activities. Rather than simply teaching children facts, the game allows them to explore ideas through experience.

The game also places strong emphasis on identity and culture by creating stories and characters that children can recognise. The characters help children see themselves in the story.

ReneWable Rangers is more than a game. It’s an invitation to rethink what children are capable of and what kind of future we want to prepare them for.

What the game looks and feels like

At this stage, ReneWable Rangers is a carefully designed prototype. It combines cultural responsiveness, sustainability, self-directed learning and play-based pedagogy into one integrated learning experience.

Unlike many educational games that import foreign models and try to localise them after the fact, ReneWable Rangers was designed from the ground up with South African learners in mind. It does not treat cultural relevance or learner voice as add-ons: these are central to the experience.

That said, strong conceptual design must be followed by careful empirical validation. The next step is to take ReneWable Rangers into real classrooms, observe how learners engage with it, and measure its impact on their understanding, confidence and curiosity.

THE CONVERSATION

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