Siyabulela Jentile
Human Rights Activist
By Siyabulela Jentile
Managing Director: Civic Root Advocacy
Civic Root Advocacy expresses deep alarm at the worsening school placement crisis in Gauteng, where hundreds, if not thousands of children, many entering Grade 8 remain unplaced despite the academic year being only weeks away.
Parents across the province are distressed, frustrated, and panicking as the Department of Basic Education continues to mishandle the admissions process.
For several weeks, the Gauteng Department of Basic Education’s online admissions system was down, with no communication, warnings, or explanations provided to parents.
The sudden silence from the department has now escalated into a full crisis.
It is now December.
Schools are declaring they are already full, yet learners remain unplaced. Families are left in limbo, uncertain about their children’s educational future, and forced into last-minute crises that could have been avoided with transparency, responsiveness, and proper planning.
To worsen the situation, parents attempting to contact the department for assistance report that phone calls are going unanswered, leaving them with no guidance, no clarity, and no support during one of the most stressful periods of the school calendar.
What was meant to be a simple admissions tool has become a system that excludes, frustrates, and destabilises families especially those from working-class and township communities already facing barriers in accessing quality education.
Renting parents in urban or suburban areas remain among the hardest hit.
Many are denied placements because they cannot produce utility bills or leases in their own names requirements that fail to reflect the realities of informal housing, shared accommodation, and domestic work arrangements.
The human toll of this crisis is devastating. Parents have spent sleepless nights refreshing online portals, standing in queues at district offices, calling phone lines that ring unanswered, and making desperate appeals for help.
These are not minor administrative delays, they are systemic failures with life-changing consequences.
Civic Root Advocacy therefore calls for the following urgent reforms:
1.A complete review and reform of the current admissions and feeder-zone policy, focusing on fairness, access, and social justice.
2.A transformation-centred, pro-poor admissions framework that addresses inequality rather than reproducing it.
3.Flexible, inclusive documentation requirements that reflect the realities of renting families, informal living arrangements, and housing insecurity.
4.Transparent, publicly accessible reporting on placement backlogs, appeals, and infrastructure deficits – disaggregated by region and socio-economic status.
5.The creation of an emergency intervention and support system for parents who are currently stranded, distressed, and without placement options.
This crisis raises an urgent question:
How does a province allow the academic year to approach while thousands of children remain unplaced and parents are left without answers?
Civic Root Advocacy stands firmly with all families fighting for their children’s right to a fair, just, and dignified education.
Education is not a privilege of convenience it is a constitutional right.
Tshwane Talks readers have been able to read stories in this publication for free for over two years now. We still want our readers to access our stories for free, but we are asking those among our readers who can afford it to contribute at least R30 a month to cover some of the costs of publishing this independent, non-aligned online newspaper which gives a voice to all sectors of society irrespective of race, colour, creed, religion, or political affiliation. You may make your contribution by depositing at least R30 a month into Tshwane Talks' bank account. Details are as follows:
Bank Details
Bank: Standard Bank
Account Number: 10225548834
Account Type: Cheque Account