Some Gauteng learners will spend the holidays without knowing how they performed in the second term.

This is due to a glitch affecting access to the South African School Administration and Management System (SA-SAMS), following the temporary unavailability of the Citrix environment that supports the system.

In a statement, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has apologised to learners, parents, and school communities affected by delays in the issuing of report cards at some public ordinary schools.

According to the department, the challenge has limited some schools’ ability to access, capture, and finalise learner data required for printing and issuing report cards.

Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Lebogang Maile, acknowledged the inconvenience caused and assured affected communities that the matter is receiving urgent attention.

“On behalf of the Gauteng Department of Education, I extend my sincere apology to learners, parents, and school staff affected by this delay. We understand the importance of report cards in tracking learner progress and planning for the academic term ahead,” MEC Maile said.

The MEC clarified that SA-SAMS is a national system administered by the Department of Basic Education, and that provincial education departments depend on its operational stability for learner administration and academic record processing.

GDE confirms that system administrators and technicians are actively working to restore full functionality and normalise access as soon as possible.

Maile has urged affected schools and parents to allow the technical process to be concluded so that report cards can be issued without compromising the integrity and accuracy of learner records.

“We are confident that the technical teams handling the matter will restore the system soon. We appreciate the patience shown by schools, learners, and parents as this process is being resolved,” Maile concluded.

The department’s apology has drawn mixed reactions on social media. While some parents acknowledged that technical failures can occur and welcomed the department’s transparency, others criticised the disruption, arguing that report cards are essential for monitoring learners’ performance.

Schools have informed parents that they will issue reports at the beginning of the third term.