There are concerns that late applications will once again throw the Western Cape education system into the deep end, with overcrowded classrooms and overstretched teachers becoming the norm.
Toward the end of the 2024 school year, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) announced that the province's schools were at capacity, having placed 97% of learners applying for Grade 1 and 8 for the 2025 school year.
The department explained that while they were in the process of placing the remaining 3% of learners, they expected to receive extremely late admission applications for around 4,000 Grade 1 and 8 learners, who may not be placed before the end of the first term in the 2025 school year.
Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson for the WCED, acknowledged the challenge these late applicants present.
“The challenge with these learners is that we do not know where they will seek placement, or what their grades, languages, ages, or subject choices will be.
“This makes planning our resource allocation for these extremely late applicants in advance very difficult.
“We will work to place every learner for whom an application is received going forward, but we want to be clear that Western Cape schools are full, and we appeal for patience from parents submitting new applications.”
Mauchline also highlighted that the Eastern Cape is the main source of first-time registrations from outside the Western Cape each year. “Once schools have opened and the 10th day Snap survey is completed, we expect to see this pattern continue for 2025,” she said.
André de Bruyn, the chairperson of the Educators Union of South Africa (EUSA), raised concerns over what he called “a brewing educational crisis” in the Western Cape. He highlighted pressing issues, including late admissions, teacher cuts, and the controversial BELA Bill, which have added strain on already struggling schools with limited resources, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
"Late admissions from the Eastern Cape continue to flood schools in the Western Cape," he explained, noting that the sheer volume of learners disrupts classrooms, leading to overcrowding and teacher burnout.
“The crisis deepens with the recent announcement of 2,407 teacher post cuts. These cuts hit historically disadvantaged communities the hardest," de Bruyn warned.
"The quality of education in these areas, already fragile, will deteriorate further," he added, likening the situation to a return to "gutter education" from past decades.
“The cuts mean fewer teachers, larger classes, and less individualized attention, leaving learners in these areas at an even greater disadvantage,” he said.
De Bruyn also voiced concern over the BELA Bill, which he claims threatens to undermine the autonomy of school governing bodies.
"For schools in disadvantaged areas, this loss of power could have disastrous consequences," he said, urging that the bill be reconsidered to ensure it strengthens, rather than weakens, school governance.
Echoing de Bruyn’s concerns, Khalid Sayed, Leader of the Opposition in the Western Cape legislature, pointed to systemic neglect within the province’s education system.
"Every year, thousands of learners miss out on the first few weeks and months of education," he remarked, blaming the government’s failure to address overcrowding and the shortage of schools.
"The DA government’s failure to address this crisis reflects a decline in educational quality," Sayed added, stressing the need for a government committed to ensuring equitable access to education.
Both de Bruyn and Sayed agree that national government resources are available to tackle the crisis.
The department has asked parents to work with us as we try to accommodate their children as soon as possible.
“We understand that this is a stressful and anxious period for parents. We urge parents to ensure that the department has the correct contact details for them, so that when a place becomes available we are able to contact them.”