The Gauteng Department of Education had completed 325 858 placements of pupils by mid-December 2024 and 21 952 late applicants by mid-January.
In total, the department placed 334 851 applicants for the 2025 academic year, which includes 21 952 late applicants.
The department has noted that “the trend of admissions pressure is evident in both late and early applications, with Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni regions receiving more applications”.
The biggest number of late applications came from the Johannesburg region, with 7 989 requests for admission into public schools.
In his budget vote speech for the 2024/25 financial year, MEC Matome Chiloane highlighted the department’s plans to tackle the challenge of the growing need for classroom space.
Chiloane noted that the average number of learners in Gauteng has increased by approximately 2% over the last five years at an average of more than 50 000 new learners a year.
“There is no other province that is experiencing this level of demand for learning spaces than Gauteng,” he said.
Chiloane highlighted that more than R1,6-billion has been set aside to build 17 new schools in high-pressured communities through the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development.
“The GDE’s current New and Replacement School Programme included 17 schools. In addition, the Gauteng Department of Education, supported by the Gauteng Infrastructure Financing Agency, received grant funding for the construction of 18 schools from National Treasury and the department was awarded R1.5-billion from the National Treasury over three years,” Chiloane said.
Meanwhile, the province has 1886 Public Ordinary Schools that were allocated a Section 21.1c function, and at eight schools out of 1886, parents buy textbooks. A total of 27 schools have declared 100% Universal Textbooks Coverage.
The department has noted that out of the remaining 1 851 schools, 1 850 (99,9%) have ordered textbooks.
By early this month, a total of 1 788 (96,6%) of the 1 850 schools had received delivery of the textbooks ordered, with 62 (3,4%) schools still awaiting delivery. The 62 schools opted for orders to be delivered in January 2025 to avoid burglaries.
Furthermore, the department’s poverty alleviation program feeds 1 708 602 learners from 1 662 schools. These include 1 088 primary schools, secondary schools, and 107 special schools.
The department has contracted 8 517 food handlers on a 24-month contract to help with the preparation of meals and the upkeep of the feeding system and has enlisted 234 chief volunteer food handlers. The Department has contracted 194 companies to transport learners to schools.
An amount of R1.1-billion has been allocated to this programme for year one. In addition, 12 satellite schools are benefiting from the Learner Transport Programme.
