The schools in the Umkhanyakude District have suffered a long history of under investment. During the time of apartheid governance and under the policy of “Bantu education” (low-level education for the black citizens of South Africa), the schools were intentionally designed to be second-class. Despite the commitment of the democratic government of South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal Province to equal education, rural schools still have severely limited resources.
The average class size is 60 students; some classes have more than 80 students. Few, if any, students ever have access to computer training or to the information available through the World Wide Web.
By the end of 2012, Mpilonhle had provided services to more than 100 schools in the Umkhanaykude District, which are identified in the map below, a more detialed version of which can be seen at Mpilonhle Sites Served 2007-2012
A map of the original 12 target schools, and a sense of where the sites are in northern KwaZulu-Natal, is this schematic map. 