‘A joke!’: Minister of Education criticised over ‘foldable desks’

The Department of Basic Education and Minister Siviwe Gwarube have been criticised for rolling out foldable desks that impoverished students are expected to carry to school every day.

The campaign was introduced in rural areas where students likely have to walk long distances to school. 

According to the department, the introduction comes amid “infrastructure challenges.”

MINISTER OF EDUCATION INTRODUCES FOLDABLE DESKS TO RURAL SCHOOLS

This week, the Department of Basic Education and Minister Siviwe Gwarube rolled out foldable desks to impoverished students in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape.

The campaign was developed by MiDesks Global and received sponsorships from Old Mutual and McDonald’s, whose logos were printed on

According to the NGO, the wheelie schoolbag, made of hard plastic, converts into a desk and a chair with a solar light and a USB charging portal. The bag’s wheels allow the learners to pull it over any terrain.

The desks are also “sturdy” enough to last from grades R – 12.

The NGO claimed that the “innovative” initiative is geared at “making life easy for learners and teachers” in impoverished and rural communities.

In the Eastern Cape, Sibusiso Lukhozi, the Eastern Cape Education Department’s Director of School Resource Planning handed over 300 foldable desks to the province’s most rural areas.

Lukhozi told Daily Maverick: “Even the small ones can handle it easily. Also, the desk can be folded up and pulled home where they can use it to study.” 

In the Western Cape, Minister Siviwe Gwarube personally handed out desks – she called a “brilliant solution” –  to grade 1 learners in the Bo Kaap.

She tweeted: “Every child deserves a learning environment and appropriate infrastructure that is conducive.”

Today, I handed over Mi Desks to Grade 1 learners at St Paul’s Primary school in Bo Kaap, thanks to a generous donation from @McDonalds. @MiDeskGlobal manufactures wheelie school bags that transform into a fully functional desk and chair, easy for learners to use both at home… pic.twitter.com/ch4cv488QE

— Siviwe Gwarube (@Siviwe_G) February 24, 2025

‘IMPRACTICAL’, SAY SOUTH AFRICANS

While the reception was a positive one in schools and from the Department of Basic Education, many South Africans on social media were shocked at what they saw.

X users questioned if the minister if the foldable bags were practical or even child-friendly.

@mark_wuger: “This must be a joke. Are the kids supposed to carry these to school and back home every day? No way.”

@PostiveImpact89: “What nonsense is this 🤧🚮 Carrying heavy load everyday”.

@DarrylJonkemp: “95% of all these children walk in the hot sun many kilometres to school. Are you saying they must now drag their desks with them?”.

@israelphiri: “Those desk/bags don’t look practical for either function. They look like they are made in China for very little and sold here for an exhorbitant price. There has to be a better solution than this one”.

@visse_ss: “Instead of fixing classrooms and providing proper school infrastructure, the government is celebrating kids carrying desks on their backs like it’s an achievement?  This is poverty glorification. Why do poor children always have to ‘innovate’ around government failure?”

I keep seeing these desks all over social media, and I have to say it—having children carry their desks as school bags is a glaring failure of government. Students shouldn’t have to carry their own desks. Ridiculous. https://t.co/5KYCNGJp92

— Siphosihle Mbuli (@siphosihlembuli) February 25, 2025

IS THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION’S FOLDABLE DESKS CAMPAIGN A FAIL OR AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION?

Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.

Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.