The Gauteng Department of Education says overcrowding in schools remains one of the biggest challenges affecting learner placements in the province.
MEC Lebogang Maile was speaking after the Department opened the online application process for Grade 1 and 8 for the 2027 academic year on Wednesday. Maile says some parents are forced to accept placements far from their homes because schools closer to them have reached capacity.
He says the province continues to experience an influx of learners, and it needs more than 200 additional schools to address the current backlog.
“You either say you are not going to accept learners in schools because they are full, and you do nothing about it, or you continue accepting learners even when the schools are full. We choose the latter. We are accepting learners even when it’s full, and that’s why it puts a huge strain. There are schools where classes are overcrowded. There are schools where there’s a shortage of desks, shortage of chairs and all that”, Maile explains.
