Over 400 Gauteng schools received funding to build additional classrooms

JOHANNESBURG - Over 400 schools in Gauteng have received funding to build additional classrooms to accommodate the province’s growing learner population. 

Gauteng’s Department of Education said the move will help reduce the number of children turned away from their preferred schools.  

The increased budget has also enabled the department to streamline its online placement process. 

ALSO READ: Gauteng parents have until end January 2025 to finalise school placements for Grade 1 and 8

In 2024, over 400,000 applications were recorded, resulting in more than 300,000 successful placements for the 2025 academic year.  

Gauteng education head of department Rufus Mmutlana said the numbers show the significant progress being made.  

“Because numbers tell a story, the total number of schools which received money to build additional classrooms are 437 schools in Gauteng so that they can expand their capacity, that’s one.”  

The department has also pledged to provide scholar transport for learners who have been placed at schools far from their homes for the 2025 academic year. 

It said that over 19,000 learners who failed to complete their applications will be given another chance, with applications reopening on Wednesday and running until the end of next month. 

MEC Matome Chiloane has praised the placement process as the most efficient yet and said the focus now shifts to ensuring every learner can attend school.

"We don't have a problem...we will try to make provisions and transport for children because that is our duty. We don’t complain or ask questions because once a child is in school, we just take them. If we don't place your children in a certain school, we have to move them to other schools, so it means we have to take the responsibility of transferring them to that other school.," he said.