Banana (Tzaneen)

Banana Primary School in Tzaneen, Limpopo. Even the name sounds like something a learner shouted out when the teacher asked who did not do their homework. "Who is responsible for this?" "Banana, Miss." And somehow that became the school name and nobody questioned it further. Now listen, this is a no-fee school and respect is due for that, genuinely. But 1165 kids and only 33 teachers? That is a ratio of 35 kids per teacher. Thirty. Five. That educator is not teaching, that educator is surviving. By the time they get to your row you have already taught yourself, marked your own work, and started a small business in the back of the class. The teacher is basically just the person who locks up at the end of the day. And Tzaneen is beautiful, lush, green, the fruit basket of Limpopo, which is probably where the name Banana came from, fair enough. But imagine telling people where you went to school. "I went to Banana." "Sorry, where?" "Banana." Your matric certificate has the word Banana on it in official government font and you have to hand that to a university admissions officer with a straight face. Jy weet hoe is dit. Overall verdict: Banana is doing the Lord's work with basically no resources and one teacher for what feels like a small village, and somehow the kids turn out fine, which honestly makes it more impressive than any fancy Cape Town school charging R50k a year.