Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile has instructed an urgent investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct involving teachers and learners at Curtis Nkondo School of Specialisation in Soweto, the department said on Friday.
Safety probe underway amid wider push to rebuild confidence
The announcement comes as Maile set out a broader plan to challenge the perception that high‑quality education exists only in a small group of historically privileged suburban schools. He said infrastructure alone cannot fix pressure on admissions and that improving leadership, teaching and discipline is essential to make every public school a viable choice for parents.
"The department’s task is to ensure every public school becomes one that parents are willing to choose,"
The statement reiterated that the provincial education department has a duty to investigate allegations of wrongdoing swiftly and to prioritise the safety of learners. No further operational details about the probe at Curtis Nkondo were provided in the department’s release, including whether SAPS or the family advocate had been engaged; the MEC said the matter would be handled as a priority.
Funding is redistributive but not a silver bullet
Maile emphasised that the province’s funding framework deliberately channels more public resources to schools in the poorer quintiles. For 2026 the department prescribes markedly higher per‑learner allocations for no‑fee schools in Quintiles 1 to 3 compared with wealthier Quintile 4 and 5 schools.
| School Quintile | Prescribed allocation per learner (2026) |
|---|---|
| Quintile 1–3 (no‑fee) | R1 835 |
| Quintile 4 | R919 |
| Quintile 5 | R315 |
Maile pointed out that many township schools fall in the no‑fee Quintile 1 to 3 category and therefore receive the highest allocation per learner. "Parents should not automatically disregard schools simply because they are located in historically disadvantaged communities," the MEC said.
Leadership, governance and community involvement
While funding aims to level the playing field, Maile warned that money alone will not produce educational excellence. He listed several non‑financial factors that the department says are critical to improving standards across Gauteng:
- Effective school leadership and management;
- Committed and capacitated educators;
- Functioning School Governing Bodies (SGBs) and active parental engagement;
- Disciplined school environments and reliable learning and teaching materials;
- Safe and maintained infrastructure and robust accountability mechanisms.
The MEC’s comments follow persistent concerns among parents about overcrowding, unequal resources and safety at some schools. By foregrounding governance and school leadership, the department is signalling that it intends to tackle both perception and practice.
What parents and communities should expect
Officials said the department will take a two‑pronged approach: respond decisively to allegations that threaten learner safety, and pursue a programme of support to strengthen weaker schools. The exact timing and measures for that support were not detailed in the department’s statement.
For parents, the department’s message is straightforward: consider funding and the full set of quality indicators — not location alone — when choosing a school. At the same time, parents and SGBs are being asked to play a more active role in governance and oversight, particularly where allegations of misconduct arise.
Local impact and next steps
The probe at Curtis Nkondo will be closely watched in Soweto and across the province, both as a test of how quickly the department can act on safety concerns and as an indicator of its willingness to hold educators and managers to account. The department has not provided a timetable for the investigation or said when it will release findings.
Maile’s broader campaign to restore faith in public schools sets clear priorities but leaves implementation details to follow. For parents and communities, the immediate priorities are prompt, transparent handling of investigations involving learners and visible support for schools that are struggling to meet minimum standards.
Reporting from Johannesburg. More details are expected as the department and authorities provide updates on the Curtis Nkondo inquiry.
