The Gauteng Department of Education has committed to completing the long-delayed Umkhumbane Junior Secondary School in Soshanguve by January 2027, after the school existed solely on paper for three years and its 653 pupils were taught in mobile classrooms 3.8km away. Department spokesperson Onwabile Lubhelwana confirmed contractors are being appointed to finish outstanding work before the December 2026 builders’ shutdown, with occupation now targeted for the start of the next academic year.

Three Years Of Empty Promises

Umkhumbane Junior Secondary School opened on paper in 2023, enrolling Grade 8 to 10 learners with parents assured their children would be housed temporarily at Ruabohlale Secondary School while a permanent structure was built. The original completion deadline of 2025 passed with no construction whatsoever taking place on the vacant Soshanguve South Extension 10 site.

A Grade 10 learner told Sowetan of the prolonged frustration. In a separate interview, a staff member described how the department repeatedly dismissed queries with assurances of a 14-day turnaround, only for three years to elapse without progress.

“It has been three years as a learner at Umkhumbane, and for the last three years we were told we would have our own school but still nothing.”

— Grade 10 learner at Umkhumbane Junior Secondary School

“When we ask the department about the progress of school construction, they tell us 14 days. Three years have passed now.”

— Staff member at Umkhumbane Junior Secondary School

Rotational Classes And Mounting Rebellion

Grade 10 learners attend daily, but Grades 8 and 9 follow a rotational timetable between Monday and Thursday, a schedule parents and pupils blame for some children being forced to repeat grades. The 653 registered pupils share nine mobile classrooms with Ruabohlale Secondary, a brick-and-mortar institution, while one mobile unit serves as an Umkhumbane staff room.

Lubhelwana insisted the arrangement was preferable to keeping children at home. However, on 31 August 2026, Umkhumbane pupils embarked on a class boycott that lasted at least eight days, demanding relocation to their rightful site.

The ANC-led department condemned the disruption but faces renewed scrutiny over its capacity to deliver infrastructure. Lubhelwana acknowledged the need for stakeholders to use official structures, yet the department’s revised January 2027 deadline will be closely watched given its history of unmet commitments. Staff members told Sowetan that Umkhumbane has already admitted approximately 300 new Grade 8 learners for next year, piling further pressure on the project.