The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has successfully placed all remaining unplaced Grade One and Grade Eight learners who applied through the Online Admissions system, bringing relief to hundreds of families across the province.

According to Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, about 484 Grade One and Grade Eight learners were still unplaced in Ekurhuleni, particularly in Tembisa and Kempton Park. By Tuesday evening, March 3, all unplaced learners had been accommodated at alternative schools in the identified areas.

Over 392 224 learners were placed for 2026 via the department’s online system. The majority of applications were submitted during the main application period, which ran from July 24 to August 5. The department said 8.5% (33 650 applications) came in during the late application period between December 17 and January 30. Parents were thanked by the department for their patience and resilience.

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Schools will implement catch-up plans to help recover curriculum time lost while waiting for placement.
“The Admissions system remains an important transformation tool to ensure all our schools are accessible to all our children. We are pleased to have demonstrated this through the placement of all applicants who applied online,” he added.

“However, we are determined to improve the system to ease some of the frustrations that are encountered during this process. In addition to systems improvements, the Gauteng government will be constructing 18 additional new schools to increase capacity in the high-pressure areas that we have identified,” Chiloane concluded.