The failure of the Gauteng government, led by Premier Panyaza Lesufi, to enrol all learners in schools before the 2026 school year commences is unacceptable.
A mere 606 of the more than 5 000 Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners have been enrolled over the past two weeks, leaving 4 858 learners without any idea where they will attend school just one week before the academic year is set to start.
This minimal progress is indicative of poor planning, incompetent administration and a clear lack of urgency.
Despite assurances from the MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, that the process is “efficient and fair”, the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) is receiving numerous reports of learners being placed at schools up to 95 km from their homes.
These placements undermine family stability, learner safety and community-based education, while shifting the costs of government failure onto parents.
Parents have also raised serious concerns about the process of reapplying for Grade R learners to remain at their current schools, only to be placed elsewhere after uniforms were already obtained and arrangements made.
This practice creates uncertainty and disregards parental choice.
In the Tshwane Metro, petitions highlight recurring problems: Grade 8 bottlenecks, unexplained appeal rejections, the separation of siblings, safety issues and special circumstances being disregarded.
Enrolment on paper does not guarantee actual access to education, especially not when children are removed from their communities or have to wait for confirmation of placement until the very last minute.
This stems from admission processes commencing too late, inadequate capacity planning in high-growth areas and a lack of transparency.
The Freedom Front Plus believes in decentralised, community-oriented education where parents actually have a say and children are educated close to home.
A competent provincial government would start admission processes earlier, prioritise local and family placements, expand capacity where population growth demands it and ensure no learner is forced to travel excessively far.
The Lesufi administration’s ongoing failure confirms that Gauteng’s education system is poorly managed with learners, families and communities paying the price.
FF+ Manifesto on Land reform: Implementing land reform that respects property rights.
Daffy Girl
Diary of an Englishman after he moves to South Africa….
**August 1**: Just got transferred with work from London, UK to our new home in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa. Now this is a town that knows how to live! Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday. It was beautiful. I’ve finally found my new home. I love it here.
**September 1:** Really heating up now. It got to 31 today. No problem though. Living in air-conditioned home, driving air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I’m turning into a sun-worshipper – no blasted rain like back in London! Had the back yard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. No more mowing lawns for me! Another scorcher today, but I love it here. It’s Paradise !
**October 1:** The temperature hasn’t been below 35 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least today it’s windy though. Keeps the flies off a bit. Acclimatizing is taking longer than we expected. Fell asleep by the pool yesterday. Got third degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed three days off work. What a dumb thing to do. Got to respect the old sun in a climate like this!
**October 25:** This wind is a bastard. It feels like a giant fucking blow dryer. And it’s hot as hell! The home air conditioner is on the blink and the repair man charged R200 just to drive over and tell me he needs to order parts from @#$# Johannesburg. The wife & the kids are complaining.
**October 30:** The temperature’s up around 40 and the parts still haven’t arrived for the fucking air conditioner. House is an oven so we’ve all been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. Bleeding R4 million house and we can’t even go inside. Why the hell did I ever come here?
**November 4:** Finally got the fucking air-conditioner fixed. It cost R1,500 and gets the temperature down to around 35 degrees. Stupid repairman. Fucking thief. If one more smart bastard says ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I’m going to fucking throttle him. Fucking heat! By the time I get to work, the car radiator is boiling over, my fucking clothes are soaking fucking wet and I smell like baked cat. Fucking place is the end of the Earth.
**November 9:** Tried to run some errands after work, wore shorts, and sat on the black leather upholstery in my car. I thought my fucking backside was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh, all the hair on the backs of my legs and off my fucking behind. Now the car smells like burnt hair, fried bum and baked cat. The Weather report might as well be a fucking recording – hot and sunny. Hot and sunny, Hot and fucking sunny. It’s been too hot to do anything for 2 bleeding months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Fuck!!
**November 15:** Doesn’t it ever rain in this darn place? Water restrictions will be next, so my R5,000 worth of palms might just dry up and blow into the fucking pool. The only things that thrive in this hell-hole are the fucking flies. You don’t dare open your mouth for fear of swallowing half a dozen of the little buzzards!
**November 20:** Welcome to HELL! It got to 45 degrees today. Now the air conditioner is gone in my car. The repair man came to fix it and said, ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I wanted to shove the car up his backside. Anyway, had to spend the R2,500 of the mortgage payment to bail me out of jail for assaulting the stupid fool. Fucking PHALABORWA! What kind of sick, demented idiot would want to live here!
**December 1:** WHAT!!!! The FIRST day of Summer!!!!
You are fucking kidding me, right?
Lightweight
The difference between the South African football team and a tea bag is that the tea bag stays in the cup