We’re not responsible for building schools – Gauteng Education Department

The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has stated that it is not responsible for building schools to alleviate the pressure on the province’s educational institutions.

The Department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona, said this in an interview with Newzroom Afrika centred around the reasons parents have yet to find out where their children have been placed for the 2026 school year.

“We don’t have a responsibility to build schools. The Department of Infrastructure must build schools,” the spokesperson said.

“But because of the situation we have found ourselves in, we have had to intervene, let’s have partners, and make sure that we enter the space and we build.”

Several thousand parents with children who are either entering Grade 1 or Grade 8 have been left in limbo about where their child will be placed at the start of the 2026 academic year.

According to Mabona, there are just over 11,000 applicants still awaiting placement for the 2026 academic year.

The GDE informed Parliament in May 2025 that the number of new learners entering its public schooling system each year had increased from 90,992 at the start of 2015 to 124,375 in 2025.

The province reports that the most significant portion of new learners comes from foreign countries, with 30,090 arriving from abroad in 2025. This has grown from just over 12,000 in 2015.

Despite this, data from The Outlier revealed that the province has only built 48 public schools since the start of the 2015/16 financial year, which is less than half the number built by the Western Cape (97).

According to the data, the province had 2.33 million learners, but only 2,068 schools to accommodate them, resulting in an average of 1,127 learners per school.

When asked about the rate of urban development relative to the number of schools built, Mabona said that municipalities continue to approve housing projects but not the expansion of schools.

“When we ask the municipalities for approval, we hit a stalemate because the increase in classrooms is above the approved capacity for the school,” Mabona said.

He says there are instances where the Department has reached out to developers, given that new housing will necessitate increased school capacity in certain areas.

When asked about ways the Department has mitigated issues of learner placement in high-pressure areas, Mabona said that the GDE has deployed satellite schools, which he claims can absorb the surplus of learners.

As for building new brick-and-mortar schools, the spokesperson said that several contracts are delayed due to the interference of business forums, such as construction mafias, or contractors providing “shoddy work”.

However, he stated that the Department is currently working on a project to build several schools in high-pressure areas, which is expected to be completed as early as March 2026.

Parents left in limbo

The 11,000 parents still awaiting confirmation as to where their child will be placed in 2026 is significantly less than the 40,000 on 4 December.

However, parents were told that they would know by the end of the academic year, which was on 12 December.

Frustration felt by parents is evident based on posts by parents on the “Gauteng Admissions | Online Application Updates” Facebook page.

Among those seeking clarity about when they might expect a notification from the Department are parents who cannot seem to find any information about the school their child has been placed at.

“My child is from Northcliff Primary School, and he’s just been placed at Far North Secondary School? Is it a fee-paying school? What’s the home language? I am so stressed,” one anonymous user wrote.

“Hi parents, my daughter is placed at Railway Secondary School, and I’ve no idea where it is, and I can’t find it on Google. We are based in Akasia. Does anyone know where the school is? Please help,” another wrote.

The GDE states that the following criteria determine placement offers. These are applied in order of priority and not on a first-come, first-served basis:

1. Home address within the school’s feeder zone
2. Sibling(s) or previous school
3. Work address within the school’s feeder zone
4. Home address within a 30 km radius
5. Home address beyond a 30 km radius

Learners who do not receive an offer from any of the schools to which they applied will receive transfer offers from the next closest school with available space.

Should parents wish to object to a placement outcome, they need to decline the placement offer by completing the electronic objection form online, which must be submitted within seven days of receipt.

These objections will then be reviewed based on merit, and outcomes will be communicated to parents within two weeks.