MINISTERIAL NO-SHOW: Missed opportunity — run-down Greenville Primary’s bid to upgrade school ignored yet again

After officials prepared for a ministerial visit to address dire issues at Greenville Primary School, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube was a no-show, deepening concerns about the school’s neglect.

For years, Greenville Primary School in Gqeberha has battled vandalism, crumbling infrastructure and chronic neglect. Two of its three classroom blocks stand abandoned, the entire school has no electricity, and the pupils’ toilets are simply too damaged to use.

On Friday, 29 May 2026, teachers and members of the school’s governing body spent the morning preparing for a ministerial visit, hoping it would finally provide an opportunity to air their concerns and allow the minister to tour the school first-hand and see the extent of the long-standing decay, safety issues, vandalism and neglect.

But as the school day wore on, the teachers and governing body members – who for years have been met with one disappointment after another from government authorities – were dealt yet another blow when Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube and her delegation were a no-show.

Greenville, a no-fee primary school in the northern areas of Gqeberha, was quietly removed from the minister’s itinerary during her visit to the city.

Gwarube was in Gqeberha to conduct a school safety visits as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen learner and teacher safety and well-being in schools.

She was accompanied by several of her DA colleagues, including Eastern Cape leader and MP Andrew Whitfield, Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral candidate Retief Odendaal, local councillors and provincial legislature members.

Gwarube has rejected any suggestion that Greenville was deliberately overlooked, saying she had already received reports detailing the school’s condition and that officials would follow up.

The school that Gwarube did visit, where she and her colleagues praised principals and teachers for maintaining well-run schools, stood in stark contrast to Greenville, where the scale of decay and the ongoing violation of learners’ basic human rights were far more severe.

Human rights concerns were first raised in 2022, when Chris Nissen of the Human Rights Commission visited the school. Nissen at the time expressed concern about the poor conditions teachers and learners were subjected to.

Only one of the school’s three classroom blocks remains in use. The others stand largely abandoned and visibly run down. In functioning classrooms, shattered windows leave teachers and pupils exposed to bitter winter temperatures.

The administration building — home to the principal’s office, secretary’s