Asbestos Material Threatens The Health of Gauteng's Pupils

Lukholweni Primary School in Orlando East, Soweto, is the latest to raise alarms after health inspectors locked up multiple asbestos-built classrooms last week. The lockdown affected about 130 Grade 5 pupils who were squeezed into one remaining classroom, plus another 115 Grade 6 pupils had to share a cramped container classroom, raising serious concerns for their health and well-being. Asbestos exposure has been linked to lung contamination, hence the closures of buildings with this hazardous material.

This increasingly urgent issue extends beyond Soweto; Lukholweni is only one of 29 schools across Gauteng labelled as unsafe this year due to their use of asbestos in roofing. The Department of Education's process to replace these harmful structures has been slow-moving at best, stalled further by land ownership disputes.

With the lack of adequate response from the Department, the health inspector from the labour department had no choice but to close up to 18 classrooms last month due to health risks. Despite numerous letters sent to the Department over the past five years requesting assistance with their infrastructure, the Lukholweni school received no response.

Fezile Kona, the chair of the ad-hoc committee and a member of the school governing body (SGB) at Lukholweni, has expressed negativity towards the impact this is having on learning. When classrooms were locked, they were told to move some pupils to the adjacent Ditau Primary School, but this was rejected due to language barriers.

Finally, in a visit to Pretoria Primary school, similar conditions were discovered. This school was also on the list of 29 unsafe schools due to asbestos building material, with no sign of improvement.