The Democratic Alliance (DA) demands that the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) urgently address the placement crisis within the promised 10 days to end the ongoing crisis at Laerskool Danie Malan in Pretoria North.
The ongoing violent protests outside Laerskool Danie Malan by certain groups, including members of the EFF are disrupting learning and teaching and jeopardising the safety of learners and staff. Protesters demands placement for learners and so called transformation. These aggressive actions are unacceptable and compromise the school’s ability to provide a safe and stable learning environment.
During the DA’s oversight inspection at the school today, we discovered that Laerskool Danie Malan is operating at full capacity. Additional classrooms can only be built on the school’s sports fields. Interestingly, NorthPark Primary School, a nearby English-medium school, has seven empty classrooms and sufficient capacity to accommodate additional learners. However, parents are not seeking placement at this school because it does not have sporting facilities.
Laerskool Danie Malan remains the only Afrikaans-medium primary school in Pretoria North, providing an essential space for cultural and linguistic diversity. It is tragic that, in 2025, language and cultural identity are being pitted against inclusivity rather than celebrated as part of South Africa’s diversity.
Furthermore, GDE’s failure to build schools with adequate infrastructure is having a severe impact on our learners who are left fighting for placement in schools closer to their homes. Surely, erecting extra classrooms in sporting fields is not the way to go in addressing the lack of infrastructure because our learners need to stay active as much as they need to be educated.
The DA stands firm in our belief that every child has the right to quality education without interference, intimidation, or coercion. We therefore condemn in the strongest terms the actions of those who have disrupted learning and caused unnecessary fear among learners.
We will continue to put pressure on GDE to intervene and resolve placement issues at this school. We also urge parents and community members to resolve tensions constructively, rather than resorting to disruptive and divisive actions.