When schools become sites of sorrow: A mother’s plea for our children in Gauteng

Each time I read another statement about a pupil dying at school, my heart sinks a little deeper. It is devastating to see young lives cut short, whether due to negligence, poor infrastructure, violence or sudden illness. No child should lose their life in a place meant to nurture dreams.

As a mother, I cannot shake the thought of receiving that call. The one that begins with: “There has been an incident.” We send our children to school believing it is a safe haven. We trust teachers, we trust systems, we trust that when we say goodbye at the gate, we will say hello again in the afternoon.

On 16 February 2026, MEC Matome Chiloane was “deeply saddened by the tragic passing of a 10-year-old Grade 5 boy learner from Reagile Primary School, in the Winnie Mandela area of Tembisa.” According to the department, the incident “reportedly occurred during second break” when pupils were playing around soccer posts and “a goal post reportedly fell on the learner, resulting in severe injuries”. “Despite all efforts to resuscitate the learner, he sadly succumbed to his injuries and was declared deceased on the scene.” I read that and imagined his mother. Did she pack his lunch that morning?

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Did she remind him to behave in class? Did she know it would be the last time she saw him alive? Furthermore, a Grade R boy student from Bernard Isaacs Primary School in Coronationville tragically lost his life earlier in February after sustaining injuries on school premises.

According to reports, the young boy was left unattended. He attempted to climb out of a classroom window, got stuck and suffocated.

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