The High Court in Pretoria has ordered the City of Tshwane to restore electricity to schools that were cut off over unpaid property rates.

 Laerskool Wierdapark and AfriForum brought the urgent application this week.

The matter was heard on Tuesday.

AfriForum said several schools were disconnected, despite having paid their electricity accounts in full. It said school governing bodies are responsible for paying for services such as electricity and water, while property rates are meant to be dealt with by “the authorities”.

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AfriForum’s head of cultural affairs, Alana Bailey, said the disconnections had disrupted teaching and placed learners and staff at risk.

“It is unfair that learners and staff’s rights to have access to quality education, safety, and even the provision of their basic needs are being violated due to the authorities’ maladministration. At the affected schools, teaching could not take place as usual. Systems that should protect safety on the premises were not working. Feeding schemes that should provide hot meals to the most vulnerable children could not continue, while supplies in refrigerators spoiled,” Bailey said.

She said the order provided urgent relief to schools that should never have been drawn into a dispute over debts they were not responsible for.

“AfriForum is grateful for the speedy relief that the court order provides to the affected schools and trusts that the Metro will consult with the relevant authorities in the future, instead of trying to hold schools accountable for outstanding debts that they are not responsible for. Not only does this punish the innocent, but it also jeopardises learners’ right to quality education and safety, which is completely unacceptable,” Bailey said.

The Freedom Front Plus said Wierdapark Primary School had already been affected and warned that more schools in Pretoria could have faced the same fate without intervention.

“This step is reckless and inhumane, as schools themselves are not responsible for paying property rates. The responsibility rests on the shoulders of the Department of Education,” the party said.

The VF Plus said the crisis pointed to “a pattern of poor coordination and a lack of accountability” between the metro and the provincial government.

The Tshwane dispute has heightened scrutiny of a separate electricity crisis affecting schools in Ekurhuleni, where the Democratic Alliance in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature has accused the Gauteng Department of Education of misleading the public about school electricity cuts.

The DA said the department had publicly claimed that no schools had been disconnected, but that an official reply by Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile showed otherwise.

According to the DA, three schools experienced electricity disconnections in 2024, 31 schools were affected in 2025, and 16 schools had already been affected in the first four months of 2026.

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The party said schools including Bedfordview High, Laerskool Welgedacht and Laerskool Morewag had been without electricity for extended periods.

“This is not a mistake — it is a deliberate attempt to hide the department’s financial and administrative failures while learners sit in dark classrooms,” the DA said.

DA Gauteng education spokesperson Michael Waters said the party would not allow the department to minimise the scale of the problem.

“Parents and learners deserve the truth. The DA will not allow the department to keep covering up this crisis,” Waters said.

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A number of municipalities are under scrutiny after E. coli contamination was detected in drinking water at schools within their jurisdictions, raising concerns about compliance with basic water quality standards.

The affected municipalities include Chief Albert Luthuli in Mpumalanga; Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Enoch Mgijima, Makana, Sundays River Valley and Nelson Mandela Bay Metro in the Eastern Cape; Matjhabeng and Nketoana in the Free State; Mpofana and Umvoti in KwaZulu-Natal; and the City of Cape Town in the Western Cape.

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The findings come from the WaterCAN Schools Water Testing Project, which identified 20 schools with dangerously high levels of E. coli in their drinking water, out of 72 schools that submitted test results.

WaterCAN said the contamination points to possible faecal pollution and raised concerns about the safety of water supplied to public institutions, particularly schools.

The organisation said it has written to the affected municipalities, calling for urgent action, including confirmatory testing, an investigation into the source of contamination, and immediate corrective measures.

WaterCAN Citizen Science and Training Coordinator Nomsa Daele said the findings are particularly concerning given existing compliance issues in some of the municipalities.

“Of deep concern is that in some of the municipalities where biological elements were found in school drinking water, they were also flagged for failing to meet basic compliance requirements in the Blue Drop Report released in 2023,” Daele said.

Makana, Chief Albert Luthuli, Sundays River Valley and Nketoana were previously identified as not meeting the required South African National Standards for drinking water quality.

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According to the 2025 Green Drop Report, the proportion of wastewater systems in a critical state has increased from 39% (334 systems in 2022) to 47% (396 systems in 2025). 

The report also found a decline in systems performing at good or excellent levels, with Green Drop certifications dropping from 22 to 14.

The Blue Drop and No Drop progress assessments for 2023 to 2024 also show only marginal improvement in drinking water systems nationally, with low-risk systems increasing slightly from 60.2% to 61.9%, while critical-risk systems declined from 9.9% to 7.9%. 

The Department of Water and Sanitation warned that critical and high-risk systems remain a serious concern requiring urgent intervention.

It also noted that municipal performance remains uneven and that many systems are affected by poor maintenance, non-compliance with treatment standards, and weak operational capacity at local level.

WaterCAN said the overlap between past compliance failures and current contamination findings suggests ongoing weaknesses in water treatment and distribution systems.

The organisation has urged municipalities to act without delay to prevent potential health risks, particularly in schools where children are exposed daily to the water supply.

“Given the potential risk to children’s health, we urgently need a prompt response and action on this matter,” Daele said.

The WaterCAN Schools Water Testing Project allows participating schools to test their own water using citizen science kits and upload results to the MapMyWater portal, which provides real-time analysis and public access to data.

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The project has expanded in 2026, with nearly double the number of schools participating compared to the previous year and coverage now extending across all nine provinces.

WaterCAN said it will continue engaging municipalities and monitoring responses as it pushes for urgent intervention to ensure safe drinking water in affected schools.

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Limpopo’s department of education has told parents, teachers and schools in the flood-hit Vhembe and Mopani districts not to reopen schools on Wednesday, warning that heavy rains have created dangerous conditions and disrupted key services, including school meals and scholar transport.

The department said the rains and flooding had affected the delivery of food to schools and added that scholar transport vehicles could also face difficulties.

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“The Department wishes to inform parents, guardians and teachers in the affected two districts to take caution and not reopen schools [on Wednesday]. This is to ensure the safety of learners and educators within the affected areas,” the department said.

“The department will advise when it is suitable for schooling to resume in the affected areas.”

The warning came after heavy rains caused major disruptions across the two districts, with videos shared on social media showing water flowing above bridges and the destruction of gravel roads, leaving villagers stranded and unable to travel to the nearest towns.

The South African Weather Service has issued a level 9 warning for Wednesday, which the department said meant heavy rains were expected to persist into the weekend.

Citing heightened risks to younger children, especially those in the early grades, the department said it would closely monitor the situation and dispatch a disaster management team.

A concerned parent, Nsovo Ndlovu from Ngove outside Giyani, told Inside Education she was worried about the continuing downpours, saying they had dampened her young boy’s excitement about returning to school.

 He could not travel because of damaged roads and flooding, said Ndlovu.

Working in Giyani town as a hairdresser, Ndlovu said she had suffered significant income losses because she was unable to travel to work, and feared the ongoing rainfall would leave her financially stretched for the rest of January.

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“It is quite sad, the timing of this rain is off. This week with many people going back to work and students back to school, hairdressers stood to make a substantial income, but we have missed on all that because of this rain,” she said.

“A lot of preparations had gone into making sure that the reopening of schools was special for my son, with a new uniform for a new grade. He was going to rekindle with friends he last saw last year, but now he has to wait a much longer. He is also disappointed. But hopefully this rain stops soon and our lives back to normal.”

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For the first time, all 75 school districts across South Africa have recorded matric pass rates of 80% and above.

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced the milestone during the official release of the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results on Monday night in Johannesburg.

Gwarube said the achievement signals a significant shift in the education system, noting that performance gaps between districts and provinces are narrowing compared to previous years.

“District performance is one of our clearest quality indicators – because it shows whether improvement is spreading system-wide or remaining concentrated in pockets of strength,” she said.

She added that this marks a turning point where improvement is no longer limited to a few pockets of excellence but is being realised across all districts.

“[W]e see what is possible when schools are supported and districts are strong. Districts like uMkhanyakude and Umlazi remind us that outstanding outcomes can come from communities overwhelmed by lack and need,” she said.

Johannesburg West in Gauteng was the top-performing district, achieving a 96.20% pass rate. The district remained in first place nationally, after recording 97% in 2024.

Close behind was uMkhanyakude in KwaZulu-Natal with 93.63%, followed by the Overberg district in the Western Cape with 92.36%. Overberg was also listed among the most improved districts, with an increase of 4.06 percentage points year-on-year.

Despite the overall improvement, several districts ranked at the lower end of the national scale, although they still met the historic 80% benchmark.  

Amathole West in the Eastern Cape recorded the lowest pass rate nationally at 80.34%. It was followed by Alfred Nzo East, also in the Eastern Cape, with a pass rate of 81.13%, while OR Tambo Inland recorded 81.17%.

Nationally, the Matric Class of 2025 achieved a record 88% NSC pass rate — the highest in South Africa’s history.

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As schools close and families enter the festive season, parents, caregivers and guardians are urged to place the safety and well-being of children at the centre of their holiday plans.

With children spending more time at home, in public spaces, and online, risks increase significantly when supervision slips.

The festive period is traditionally a time of celebration and travel, but it is also potentially one of the most dangerous times of the year for children.

In South Africa, incidents of child trafficking, kidnapping, road accidents and abuse tend to rise during this period. Parents are encouraged to always know their children’s whereabouts and ensure they are never left unattended in unsafe environments.

Child trafficking has become a crisis that continues to raise alarms and concerns.

According to the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), there’s been an increase in the percentage of child victims, from 28 per cent in 2014 to 35 per cent in 2021.

Children are trafficked for forced labour, sexual exploitation, forced marriage, exploitative begging, illegal adoption and removal of organs, amongst other things.

Boys are now increasingly targeted for human trafficking for forced criminality. Traffickers exploit vulnerabilities created by poverty, conflict and the effects of climate change.

During school holidays, children often have more free time to play, making supervision critical. Parents are advised to maintain regular communication with their children and teach them basic safety rules, such as never opening doors for strangers, keeping doors locked, and avoiding unfamiliar areas.

Road safety is another key concern during the holiday period. According to the South African National Road Traffic Act, children under the age of three must be secured in an appropriate car seat, while all passengers must wear seat belts on every journey, no matter how short.

The festive season records high numbers of road accidents due to speeding, fatigue and alcohol consumption.

Parents are reminded never to drink and drive, and to ensure their vehicles are roadworthy. Having valid car insurance is also strongly encouraged, as a single moment of distraction can lead to devastating consequences.

With more time spent on digital devices, children also face increased online risks. Parents are encouraged to educate children about responsible online behaviour. Children should be warned not to share personal information such as their location, school or daily routines, and to avoid using geotags when posting online.

Parents should also remind children that strangers online may not be who they claim to be. Children must be encouraged to report any online interaction that makes them feel uncomfortable — especially if someone asks for personal details or attempts to arrange a meeting.

Online predators often target children through social media, email, gaming platforms and messaging apps. Online grooming and child sexual exploitation have increased with the rise of technology, making parental supervision and digital awareness more important than ever.

Crimes against children remain a serious concern in South Africa.

Crimes against children include physical, emotional and sexual abuse, grooming, rape, domestic violence, and violent crimes such as assault or robbery. These acts cause serious harm to a child’s development, dignity and overall well-being.

The effects of child sexual abuse are long-lasting and may include teenage pregnancy, low self-esteem, feelings of worthlessness, lack of trust in adults, distorted views of relationships, and in severe cases, suicidal thoughts. Children who experience abuse are also at an increased risk of future victimisation.

The South African Constitution guarantees the right of everyone, including children, to be protected from all forms of violence, whether from public or private sources.

Some parents and guardians have shared how they are protecting their children during the festive season.

One parent said, “When I leave for work, I prepare everything for my children, then I lock the yard and go with the key.”

Another caregiver explained that her younger sister stays home to look after the children while she is at work.

A parent from Gauteng said she sent her children to stay with their grandparents in a rural village, believing it to be safer than the city.

“Immediately after schools closed, we took the first bus to Nquthu in KwaZulu-Natal for their holiday stay,” she said.

Refilwe Malele said: “I lock them inside the yard together with their friends, then I keep checking how they are playing.”

Davy Tsopo said he plans to keep his boys occupied in positive ways: “I am taking my son and the neighbour’s son fishing. Boys must be boys.”

One parent expressed concern about keeping her child busy while also learning responsibility:

“I am considering getting him a part-time job. He is 11 years old. I want to teach him responsibility, but I don’t even know where to start.”

Children should be supervised at home, during travel and in public spaces to prevent accidents — or them going missing.

By prioritising safety, maintaining open communication and staying informed, parents can help ensure children enjoy a secure and happy holiday period.

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