Gauteng education department (GDE) spokesperson Steve Mabona has pushed back against criticisms regarding the province’s school placement crisis, saying it is not the department’s responsibility to build new schools. Gauteng is grappling with a significant admission backlog, leaving thousands of families in a state of uncertainty. The crisis is most severe in “high-pressure areas” such as: In an interview with Newzroom Afrika, Mabona said the GDE cannot be solely blamed for the shortage of space that prevents many pupils from being placed in schools close to their homes.
He described the placement issue as “multi-layered”. “The blame cannot be placed solely on us. We do not have the mandate to build schools; the department of infrastructure is our implementing agent responsible for construction.” Despite the department facing intense public pressure to meet the rising demand for education, Mabona insisted their role is to facilitate placement, not to manage construction projects.
A total of 10,285 pupils remain unplaced for the 2026 school year, 2,848 grade 1 pupils and 7,447 grade 8 pupils. The department has assured that all pupils will be accommodated before the start of the new academic year. “Our employees have been working to make sure we place most, especially in the high-pressure areas we are experiencing.” One temporary solution has been the introduction of satellite schools, which are constructed using prefabricated materials rather than traditional brick and mortar.
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However, this solution has faced resistance. Mabona said many parents are reluctant to enrol their children in these “container schools”, often citing a preference for permanent structures. Mabona further highlighted the bureaucratic and logistical hurdles the department faces when attempting to expand existing facilities.
He pointed to two primary obstacles, such as contractors’ challenges, often due to contractors failing to deliver projects on time, and municipalities often refusing to approve the GDE’s requests for additional classrooms at existing schools. “When we approach municipalities to build more classrooms, we are often met with a stalemate. They will argue that a school was originally designed for a specific capacity and provide various reasons to withhold approval.”
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