The Democratic Alliance (DA) is demanding an urgent review of the Gauteng Department of Education’s (GDE) admissions and placement system following persistent failures that continue to disadvantage parents and learners across the province.
It is now clear that there are serious problems with the system itself. During a portfolio committee meeting on Wednesday, the DA formally requested that the department urgently present a full report on what is happening on the backend of the admissions platform. This report must detail the exact number and percentages of learners allocated to schools in line with the GDE’s own placement priority criteria, including how late applications are being processed.
While the department paints a positive picture by claiming that there are 53 234 available placements, this narrative simply does not reflect reality on the ground. Schools across Gauteng remain severely overcrowded, with classes well beyond acceptable limits. At the same time, the department appears to be scrambling to reflect “100% placement” figures by allocating learners to schools wherever there may be availability.
We are seeing children being placed 45 minutes away from home, in some cases 60km, and even up to 95km from where they live. Parents are being forced to absorb additional transport costs, longer travel times, and increased safety risks for their children, all because the system is failing to prioritise proximity and practicality.
The DA has consistently called for a review of the school feeder zone policy. We welcome the MEC’s confirmation that this review is now underway, which is a direct result of sustained DA pressure. However, this process must lead to meaningful reform, not cosmetic changes.
Yes it can by done by a DA-led Gauteng provincial government.
We would fix the broken system, open admissions earlier, publish transparent data on placements, and ensure learners are placed at schools as close to home as possible before the academic year begins.
Gauteng parents deserve a system that works, not annual chaos and empty assurances.