Note to editors: Please find the attached English soundbite by Sergio Isa Dos Santos MPL.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng demands that the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) break the cycle of chaos by opening the learner online application system for the 2026 academic year urgently. This will give parents more time to apply, allow the department to review submissions, open the late application period earlier and prevent a situation where learners are left without school admission and miss days and months of schooling.
The DA has consistently urged the GDE to adopt best practices by starting the application process earlier and creating a transparent, accessible, and supportive system. Yet, as we approach May 2025, there has been no official communication from the department regarding the opening of the 2026 school admissions process.
In 2025, the GDE confirmed that over 6,377 learners were only placed between 15 January and the final deadline of 30 January. This means thousands of learners missed two weeks of learning due to the department’s inefficiency and poor planning. Persistent issues with the admissions system such as technical glitches, document-upload failures, and unfair placements, frustrated parents and schools.
A DA-led Gauteng provincial government would offer accessible, in-person support to parents, ensuring that no learner is disadvantaged by technological failures or lack of internet access. The DA would also upgrade the online system to allow parents to track the status of each application individually.
The DA will continue to engage GDE to overhaul its broken registration system so that no learner misses a day of schooling in Gauteng.