South Africa's forgotten schools - in pictures

Putuma​ school on the outskirts of the town Mthatha, where more than 50 South African pupils squeeze into one class, was one of those visited during the trip organised by the community group Equal Education. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, who led the delegation, was dismayed by the state of classrooms, where children are often forced to use bricks as chairs and desks. He said the trip was intended to highlight conditions facing teachers and pupils in the province. “We will visit the most deprived, desperate schools, as well as newly built schools of which we and the government are justifiably proud. We will see the exceptionally difficult conditions facing students who study in schools with poor infrastructure. We will engage with students, parents and teachers… We hope that this tour will, in a small way, help broaden public awareness of the importance of quality and equal education for every child in our country.” Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

Peter Odedeyi, a Nigerian teacher living in rural South Africa, poses in his classroom with textbooks that have been discarded due to changes in the curriculum. His school, Gwebityala, has no electricity and not enough desks and chairs for all the pupils. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

A schoolgirl enters the bathrooms at Nyangilizwe Senior Secondary School, which has four pit toilets for the boys and four for the girls. The smell and condition of these toilets horrified the visitors. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

One of the eight pit toilets at Nyangilizwe Senior Secondary School, which serve 735 pupils. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

Ntapane Junior Secondary School has 856 pupils and not enough classrooms. There are more than 130 students in one of the grade nine classes, sitting three or four to a desk. Teachers have to stand pressed up against the blackboard. Photograph: sydellewillow/Sydelle WIllow Smith

A teacher sits in a newly built staffroom in Gwebityala school, where there is no electricity and text books are yet to be delivered. The slogan reads, If there is a will there is a way. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

Pupils enjoy the attention during the visit by the Solidarity group, which included eminent South Africans such as writer Zakes Mda and South African Human Rights Commissioner, Lindiwe Mokate. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

Classrooms at Sea View High School are run down and dilapidated. The buildings are freezing in winter and unbearably hot in summer, pupils say. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

Two pupils run past a newly built classroom at Seaview High School, where out of 40 senior students last year, only two passed their final-year exams. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

One of the dignitaries touring the schools was South African writer and actor Sindiwe Magona. The trip was particularly poignant for Magona, who grew up in the area during apartheid. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

Archbishop Makgoba sits at one of the desks in a mud classroom at Samson in the Mthomb'etsitsa village. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

A young school girl at Ntapane Junior Secondary School carries her lunch in a plastic packet during break time. The school has many problems, predominately overcrowding. There is only one tap and no sports field, library or laboratory. But despite this, the delegation encountered disciplined pupils eager to learn and dedicated teachers. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

Nyangilizwe Senior Secondary School has 735 pupils, spread over grades 10 to 12. It was severely overcrowded until recently, when the provincial education department built three temporary prefabricated classrooms. The department had not told the school of its intentions, so for years community members raised funds to build new classrooms. A half-built block of three classrooms now stands next to the prefab buildings, and the community has run out of money to finish the work. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

Renowned South African writer and playright, Zakes Mda, says he received a better education under apartheid than some pupils are getting now. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

Members of the Mthomb'etsitsa community thank the Solidarity visitors by singing songs. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

Nomandla is a new school built by the government, providing an example of what is possible – a modern school with good facilities in a deeply rural village. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

Inside the newly built Nomandla school, which will soon open to admit children from the area. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith

The full moon rises over the village of Nomandla, where the new school is seen as a beacon of hope by residents. Photograph: Sydelle WIllow Smith