Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Lebogang Maile photo by Dimakatso Modipa
The Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Lebogang Maile, has reiterated his call for municipalities to work together with the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) on municipal and electricity billings before attempting to cut off services to schools.
MEC Maile’s call follows a meeting with parents and stakeholders in Sebokeng and Bophelong in the Sedibeng District Municipality on Wednesday 10 June 2026 as part of the GDE and the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation’s It Takes a Village to Raise a Child Community Engagement programme.
Many education stakeholders, including those holding positions in School Governing Bodies and principals, complained bitterly about the constant threats of water and electricity disconnections from the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) despite not having meters at their schools.
They accused the municipality of billing them arbitrarily and not providing adequate reasons for their charges.
“I don’t understand why a municipality would find it easy to switch off services at a school and disrupt schooling. We will write to Emfuleni on these matters,” the MEC told hundreds of stakeholders at a packed Sebokeng Technical School Hall.
Other community members raised the issue of overcrowding in schools, agreeing with the MEC that it would be prudent to explore re-opening decommissioned schools in the area instead of only considering building new schools.
The MEC added that the department was also looking at buying former missionary schools and renovating them as a measure of dealing with overcrowding in some parts of Gauteng.
Former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper, Avril Phali, attended the community engagement and urged the GDE to use sports to keep youngsters away from the lure of the dangers of the streets.
MEC Maile also spoke on issues of school safety and crime, saying the province was considering installing cameras in classrooms in order to deal with bullying, crime and violence.
The It Takes a Village to Raise a Child Community Engagements move to Tshwane on Thursday 11 June 2026, with MEC Maile expected to speak to Hammanskraal and Soshanguve communities on matters around education, sport, arts, culture and recreation.
The programme aims to strengthen collaboration between government, communities and local stakeholders to identify solutions, protect schools and improve education outcomes in public schools across the province.
Stakeholders participating in the programme include youth formations, taxi associations, churches and religious leaders, councillors, School Governing Bodies (SGBs), community forums, sporting structures, civic organisations and other community leadership structures.
The engagements have created a platform that facilitates direct interaction between government and various community stakeholders on issues affecting schools and the broader education environment.
Tshwane Talks readers have been able to read stories in this publication for free for over two years now. We still want our readers to access our stories for free, but we are asking those among our readers who can afford it to contribute at least R30 a month to cover some of the costs of publishing this independent, non-aligned online newspaper which gives a voice to all sectors of society irrespective of race, colour, creed, religion, or political affiliation. You may make your contribution by depositing at least R30 a month into Tshwane Talks' bank account. Details are as follows:
Bank Details
Bank: Standard Bank
Account Number: 10225548834
Account Type: Cheque Account