Pretoria school shut due to overcrowding, lack of ventilation in classrooms: labour department

A Pretoria school was shut down due to noncompliance of Occupational Health and Safety Act measures on Thursday.

The department of employment and labour said its inspectors spotted pupils peering through windows from a two-storey building while conducting inspections nearby.

Department spokesperson Mishack Magakwe said: “The number of students in the classrooms exceeded the space provided by the school.

“It was also prohibited from operating due to ventilation challenges, as indicated by department of education inspectors who found no natural or mechanical ventilation in classrooms,” he said.

Magakwe said the academy, offering tuition from grades R to 12, was immediately served with a prohibition notice.

" “It has been prohibited from continuing to operate until the identified matters have been rectified,” he said.

The department is conducting weeklong “mega blitz” inspections across Gauteng targeting the wholesale and retail and hospitality sectors to verify their compliance with labour legislation.

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