Gauteng Premier says the province doesn’t have a shortage of schools

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said that the province doesn’t have a shortage of schools but a problem of parents preferring schools they believe offer better opportunities.

His comments come as parents queue outside district offices around the province, unhappy in some instances with the schools their children have been placed.

"We don’t have a problem of space in our schools, we’got enough classrooms to accommodate all learners, but we have a problem of choice, people want to leave certain schools."

Lesufi defended the online application system, saying it's merely a queue.

"There’s a girls school called Letsibogo it gave us 100% in the township, there is a school called Park Town Girls is in the suburbs it didn't give us 100% but see how many parents are outside that school wanting their children to be enrolled. We need to change this mentality."

Meanwhile the Gauteng Education Department has accused some schools of moving the goal post and contributing to the school placement crisis.

Thousands of parents have been making their way to district offices around the province, desperately trying to secure placements for grade 1 and 8 pupils.

Around three thousand pupils have not been able to start school on the first day of the 2026 academic year, with many blaming the province's online placement system.