Who and what is AfriForum?

AfriForum is an Afrikaans civil rights organisation that protects the rights of minority groups at national as well as provincial level, and anyone who can identify with AfriForum’s principles and objectives may join the organisation. AfriForum’s community plan focuses on mobilising communities to thus take control of their own streets and neighbourhoods again. AfriForum ensures that your constitutional and civil rights are recognised and protected at national level.

Wie en wat is AfriForum?

AfriForum is ’n Afrikaanse burgerregteorganisasie wat die regte van minderheidsgroepe op sowel nasionale as provinsiale vlak beskerm, en enigiemand wat met AfriForum se beginsels en doelstellings kan identifiseer, mag by die organisasie aansluit. AfriForum se gemeenskapsplan fokus daarop om gemeenskappe te mobiliseer om só weer beheer terug te neem oor hul eie strate en woonbuurtes. AfriForum verseker dat jou grondwetlike én burgerregte op nasionale vlak erken en beskerm word.

Problems with 2026 school placements are leading to an education disaster

Soundbite: Carien Bloem (English)

Soundbite: Carien Bloem (Afrikaans)

The Gauteng Education Department’s inability to finalise the placement of learners who must report for grades 1 and 8 on 14 January 2026, is leading to a disaster that is causing serious uncertainty among parents and learners, according to the civil rights organisation AfriForum. AfriForum attended a conference on the placement crisis in Johannesburg yesterday (4 December) to get answers about learner placements after the province’s MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, failed to give feedback on the organisation’s legal letter sent on 1 December.

In this urgent letter, AfriForum urged Chiloane to provide feedback regarding the problems with the department’s online placement system. Chiloane was requested to provide feedback by 2 December.

According to Carien Bloem, Head of Education Projects at AfriForum, Chiloane’s ignoring of a formal legal letter requesting critical information about the functioning of the placement system and contractual obligations is unacceptable. “Chiloane’s attempts to shift the blame for the placement crisis on parents who do not accept offers are absurd and a weak attempt to evade responsibility for the department’s failure,” Bloem believes.

“Delays in the placement of the last approximately 40 500 learners are not the fault of parents. Parents can only accept placements at one of their preferred schools. The system that repeatedly breaks down, a department that is covering up the situation and mechanisms that simply do not work are the reasons for this year’s crisis,” she explains.

Bloem maintains that control over the administration of the placements of learners should rather be vested in schools themselves, as the department clearly does not have the capacity to perform this task effectively.

Chiloane assured the conference that the department would complete the placement process by 12 December. However, AfriForum will closely monitor the situation and urge parents of learners who have not received placement by 12 December to promptly contact the organisation.

In its legal letter earlier this week, AfriForum also requested the department to provide proof that the placement system’s service provider was paid according to contract. This follows rumours that the malfunctioning of the placement system was linked to outstanding payments to the service provider. AfriForum has not received any feedback on this matter.

“With just over a month left before that new school year is set to begin, more than 40 500 learners are still left in the dark as to where they will kick off their primary or high school career next year. This is not an administrative blunder – this is an educational disaster,” Bloem concludes.

Placement problems: Contact AfriForum

Parents of 2026’s Gr. 1 or Gr. 8 learners that have not yet been placed by 12 December are requested to contact AfriForum. Send an email with all necessary details to onderwys@afriforum.co.za.

Please note: Learners whose offers have not been accepted by 12 December will be placed by the system. An appeal period opens on 17 December, and transfer requests will only be considered to one of the learner’s five preferred schools. Appeal applications can be made by telephone (0800 000 789), via WhatsApp (060 891 0361) or email (admissions.hotline@gauteng.gov.za or gdeinfo@gauteng.gov.za).