With the new academic year set to begin next week, frustration is reaching a boiling point in Gauteng as 4,858 learners have yet to receive school placements for 2026. The provincial Education Department has pointed to municipalities as a primary cause for delays in building and refurbishing schools, exacerbating a severe capacity crisis.
The Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg East districts are reported to have the highest numbers of unplaced learners, despite the department processing thousands of applications through its online system.
In Gauteng, parents express deep frustration and a loss of faith in the process. Kagiso, a parent who applied for her 13-year-old son’s Grade 8 placement at three different high schools in August last year, says she is “let down by the online application.”
“I’m so frustrated and so angry,” she said. “I thought that being first in line… would be a first come, first served situation. So right now I’m sitting, it’s a new year. I haven’t bought uniform and my child doesn’t know which school he’s going to go to.”
She detailed uploading all required documents and still waiting in limbo, a sentiment echoed by community support groups. Operation Dudula, which often assists parents with placements, confirmed the current chaotic state.
“What we do basically for now is that we collate the information from parents,” a representative said. “Unfortunately right now… schools are still not open… Even the [district] departments of education are still closed, and the schools are opening on Wednesday, which makes it a little bit difficult.”
Facing the crisis, a spokesperson for the Gauteng Education Department acknowledged severe capacity challenges at existing schools. The department’s plan involves relying on mobile classrooms and satellite schools to alleviate pressure while new facilities are completed.
“We’ve started a process of speaking to parents of those 4,000 learners because… we are going to place them in new schools,” the spokesperson stated. “For that to happen, we then have to start a consultative process… to understand that where we’re going to be placing them [are] at the schools that we’re currently building.”
The spokesperson indicated that seven new schools are being established, which will utilize mobile classrooms but will “meet the norms and standards as per the prescripts of the legislation.”
Ultimately, while placing blame on municipal delays for infrastructure projects, the department has made a broad appeal for patience to parents and guardians as it races to address the outstanding placements days before the school year begins.