Gauteng Department of Education wants every public school to be a parent’s choice
The MEC says every public school should be a school parents are willing to choose.
Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile says infrastructure alone will not resolve the pressure on school admissions in the province.
Maile says the department must also challenge the perception that quality public education can only be found in a small cluster of historically prestigious, suburban or highly sought-after schools.
He says the department’s task is to ensure every public school becomes one that parents are willing to choose.
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Maile says the public-school funding framework is deliberately redistributive, with Quintile 1, 2 and 3 schools receiving a prescribed allocation of R1 835 per learner for 2026, compared with R919 for Quintile 4 schools and R315 for Quintile 5 schools.
He says learners at Quintile 1 to 3 schools therefore receive approximately double the allocation of those at Quintile 4 schools and almost six times that of learners at Quintile 5 schools.
Many township schools fall within the no-fee Quintile 1 to 3 category and receive the highest prescribed allocation per learner, Maile says.
He says parents should therefore not automatically disregard schools simply because they are located in historically disadvantaged communities.
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However, Maile stresses that funding alone does not produce educational excellence.
He says quality education also requires effective school leadership, committed educators, functioning School Governing Bodies, discipline, reliable learning and teaching materials, safe infrastructure, effective school management, accountability and active parental participation.
