The placement challenges are concentrated in specific districts across Gauteng, with Ekurhuleni North experiencing the most significant strain.
The Gauteng Department of Education is working to place more than 15 000 pupils who remain without schools for the 2026 academic year, despite having achieved a 95.56% placement rate overall.
Steve Mabona, spokesperson for the department, confirmed that the outstanding applications comprise approximately 4 500 grade one pupils and more than 10 600 grade eight pupils who have yet to receive placement.
“We are working tirelessly as a department to make sure that all these learners will be placed,” Mabona said.
The department’s latest figures, released on Friday, 12 December 2025, show that 342 668 of the 358 574 unique applicants for grades one and eight have been successfully placed.
This translates to 170 807 grade one pupils placed (97.4% of applicants) and 171,861 grade eight students placed (94.2% of applicants).
High-pressure areas identified
The placement challenges are concentrated in specific districts across Gauteng, with Ekurhuleni North experiencing the most significant strain.
This district, which covers areas including Kempton Park and Tembisa, has 3 652 unplaced applicants.
Mabona outlined the areas facing the greatest pressure.
“You look at Ekuruleni South, the Alberton area. You also look at Johannesburg East, which is more of your Ivory Park area. And when you go to Tshwane, you are looking at the Tshwane South, which accounts for areas like Centurion and moves up to Midrand,” he said.
Ekurhuleni South has 2 967 unplaced pupils, while Johannesburg East has 2 011 outstanding applications.
Tshwane South accounts for 1 118 unplaced students.
ALSO READ: This province has more unplaced students for 2026 than all others combined
Capacity constraints and infrastructure challenges
The department has identified 721 schools that have reached full capacity, comprising 458 primary schools and 263 secondary schools.
The capacity challenges are particularly acute at what the department terms “high-pressure schools.”
According to the department, approximately seven primary schools with capacities ranging from 160 to 300 pupils received between 1 000 and 1 387 applications each.
About 140 secondary schools received between 1 000 and 3 288 applications to process.
Despite these challenges, the department reports that approximately 114 475 spaces remain available across the province.
“The spaces are there, but in the areas that are not highly pressured,” Mabona explained.
Transfer process underway
The department is actively transferring applicants from schools at full capacity to those with available space.
Parents checking the online system will see their status change to “transfer offer made” when a placement becomes available.
“If a parent is checking on the system and they see that the status will be saying transfer offer, it means that you are placed at that school,” Mabona said.
Transfer offers are made to the next school with available space, considering the distance from the parents’ home address.
Parents have seven days to accept or decline the transfer offer. Those who decline may submit an objection within seven days, which will be investigated and adjudicated within 14 days.
If parents remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the objection, they may submit an online appeal within seven days.
The department said the appeal outcome is final, with no alternative placement offered thereafter.
The department has received 4 460 appeals across all 15 districts and has already adjudicated 70% of these cases.
“We must say some of those adjudicated appeals have actually been favourable to some parents and unfavourable to some, but 70% of those we have done with,” Mabona said.
Late applications window opening
The online admissions system will reopen on 17 December 2025 to accommodate parents with incomplete or no applications.
During this late application window, only schools with available space will be open for selection.
Parents will be able to select one school, and placement at that school will be final.
No objections or appeals will be permitted for placements made during the late application period.
ALSO READ: Here is when late applications open for Grade 1 and 8 in Gauteng
Infrastructure interventions
The department continues to address capacity constraints through its self-build initiative, which funds schools to construct additional classrooms.
Over the past five years, the department has approved the construction of 3,799 additional self-built classrooms, providing 132 965 spaces.
Currently, schools are building 1 745 self-built classrooms to accommodate at least 61 075 pupils.
“We will make sure that we intervene, making sure that we provide infrastructure that is going to assist us, more so in the high-pressure areas,” Mabona said.
Placement criteria
The department has reminded parents that placements are not allocated on a first-come, first-served basis but according to specific criteria.
Priority is given to pupils whose home address falls within the school’s feeder zone, followed by those with siblings at the school or who previously attended the school.
Work addresses within the school’s feeder zone are considered next, followed by home addresses within a 30-kilometre radius, and finally those beyond 30 kilometres.
All placements are subject to the availability of space at each school.
ALSO READ: ‘Immigration status not determining factor in school placement,’ GDE says
Support for parents
Parents who have forgotten their login credentials can click “Forgot Password” on the landing page or contact the department’s call center on 0800 000 789 or WhatsApp on 060 891 0361.
Parents may also visit district offices to address admissions queries.
The department has acknowledged receiving high call and walk-in volumes during the placement period and has asked for patience as officials work to assist everyone.
The placement process will continue throughout the remainder of the year until all learners are placed, according to the department.
READ NEXT: You may have been one of the first to apply at a school, but here’s why your child may not get in
