Gauteng Department of Education says it has reduced pupil backlog

This in light of a damning research report released on Tuesday morning which found that it failed to keep the promises it made to the Constitutional Court on how much it would spend on new building new schools‚ missing its own target of R1.7 billion by a whopping R1.3 billion.

• Broken promises and fudged figures - Why Gauteng is so short of schoolsThe Gauteng education department failed to keep the promises it made to the Constitutional Court on how much it would spend on new building new schools missing its own target of R1.7 billion by a whopping R1.3 billion. 

As of midday 10 January 2016‚ 18 000 more learners had been placed reducing the total number of unplaced learners to 40 000‚" the department said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

"The Department is working hard to place all learners and assures parents that all their children will be placed in a Gauteng school."

On Monday morning 58 000 pupils still needed places at schools.

Gauteng is battling a schools shortage and has struggled to keep up with the demand for placements. In addition to the 58 000 unplaced pupils the department started off with this week‚ it must also make room for pupils whose parents have only just applied this year.

"Over the past two days the department has been inundated by parents applying for the first time. While all effort will be made to place all learners‚ priority will be accorded to those that utilised the online system."

The department's online registration system‚ introduced for the first time last year‚ has been criticised by parents for being riddled with glitches.

Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi told MorningLive‚ however‚ that the reduced number of unplaced pupils in January‚ compared with 80 000 last year‚ showed the system is working.

Schools in Johannesburg South‚ Johannesburg East‚ including the Bryanston area‚ Pretoria North and Midrand are completely full. Unplaced pupils in these areas will be admitted to other schools.

"Parents are urged to accept offers of placement in the proposed schools‚" the department said.

A newly-released research report titled Budget and Bricks explains why the department remains short of school places.

The Centre for Child Law last year commissioned Cornerstone Economic Research to examine whether the Gauteng education department had kept the promises it had made to build more schools during a high profile court case.

In the case‚ a pupil took her fight for a Grade One place in 2011 in a Rivonia school all the way to the Constitutional Court after the school was declared full by the governing body.

The Gauteng department of education promised the Concourt that it would deal with the underlying issue in the case: of a shortage of schools. It said it would spend 40% of its infrastructure budget on new schools and claimed it had done so since 2009.

The report by economist Carmen Abdoll finds that these promises amounted to R1.7 billion on new schools over three years.

She concludes it didn't spend 40% of its budget on new schools but underspent by R1.3 billion‚ based on data in the department's annual reports.

But she also finds the department figures on infrastructure and new school spend are contradictory and unclear.

The Western Cape education department still needs to place 18 484 pupils‚ it said on Tuesday.

- TMG Digital