Unplaced learners: Heartbreak for Gauteng families as 3,000 kids miss first day of school
What should have been a morning of excitement, new uniforms and proud smiles turned into one of heartbreak for thousands of families across Gauteng as the 2026 academic year began on Wednesday.
While many learners walked through school gates for the first time this year, about 3,000 children were left at home, still without school placements.
Most of those affected are Grade 1 and Grade 8 pupils.
Outside the Morningside district education offices, tired and anxious parents lined up from the early hours of the morning.
Some stood with their children beside them, holding folders of paperwork, waiting and hoping someone would help them find a school place.
For many, the first day of school became a day of anxiety and uncertainty.
However, Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson Steve Mabona said officials were engaging directly with frustrated parents in some of the province’s most pressured areas.
“These include Midrand, Ivory Park, Alexandra and parts of the inner city,” Mabona said in an interview with the public broadcaster.
“These are areas where demand for school places is extremely high.”
He said many parents were unhappy with placements that had already been offered.
“Some parents realise they cannot afford the school fees, others want no-fee schools, and some are concerned about the language of instruction at certain schools,” Mabona said.
“Those are the cases we are focusing on.”
But for others, there has been no placement at all.
“Out of the 2,919 unplaced learners, more than 700 are Grade 1 pupils,” Mabona said.
“Johannesburg East accounts for about 1,000 cases, while the remaining 2,000 are in Ekurhuleni.”
The department has begun negotiating with schools to temporarily increase capacity, meaning some learners may be placed in classrooms that are already full.
“We are working with schools to see where we can relocate applications in the system,” Mabona said.
He also criticised schools that had turned parents away and sent them to district offices.
“That is unfair to parents,” he said. “Schools know we first have to complete the 10-day count to deregister learners who are not returning, so we can accommodate learners in inner grades.”
Gauteng’s learner placement crisis is not new.
Each year, the province struggles to absorb growing numbers of pupils.
IOL News previously reported that Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has previously blamed the issue for being driven largely by families moving to the area in search of work.
Gwarube described Gauteng as the province hardest hit by the crisis.
“While parents may be anxious about unplaced learners, we will not stop until every single learner is placed in a school,” she said.
She said the department says it is working to expand capacity and plans to open new schools, expected to be operational by the end of January.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL News