| By Outlier, Public primary schools with fewer than 135 learners are classified as ‘micro’ schools. Many of these are in the deep rural and poorest parts of the country. In the Eastern Cape, for example, about four in every 10 primary schools fall into the micro category. |
| Research by the Department of Basic Education finds that these small schools have worse academic outcomes and more dilapidated infrastructure than larger schools, and so government’s current emphasis is to close them. The research found that 77% of micro primary schools have learners at different grades in a single class, which places a huge burden on these teachers. Nearly half of these small schools were found to be in a severe state of disrepair, particularly the water and sanitation infrastructure. |
| In some provinces, like the Free State, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North West, there have been substantial drops in the percentage of small primary schools, but simply closing small schools can be very disruptive, particularly if there isn’t an alternative school close by, so these schools will need to continue to be supported, notes the DBE research. |
| Produced in collaboration with The Education Desk. |
Closing Small Schools
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