Gauteng Education MEC Appeals for R35 Billion to Solve Severe School Overcrowding Crisis

Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile seeks R35 billion for 200 new schools as learner numbers hit 2.8 million, double the figure from 30 years ago.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 28, 2026, 6:37 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from the EWN

A Crisis of Scale: Learner Numbers Reach 2.8 Million

During a media briefing in Johannesburg on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile detailed the staggering scale of the province's educational infrastructure deficit. Gauteng currently hosts approximately 2.8 million learners—a figure that has doubled in the last three decades. This rapid population growth has pushed the province’s primary and secondary schools far beyond their intended capacities, leading to classroom environments that Maile described as a "serious challenge."

The Financial Gap: R35 Billion for 200 New Schools

To effectively ease the pressure on existing infrastructure, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) estimates that at least 200 new schools must be constructed. The projected cost for this expansion is R35 billion. However, this capital requirement is nearly half of the province's entire annual budget of just over R70 billion, making it impossible to fund through traditional government allocations alone. Under current fiscal constraints, the department is only capable of building seven schools per year—a rate that fails to keep pace with annual enrollment increases.

Breaching the Teacher-to-Learner Ratio

The impact of this infrastructure shortage is felt directly in the classroom. While the recommended national teacher-to-learner ratio is 1:40, Maile admitted that many Gauteng schools are operating significantly above this threshold. This overcrowding not only strains physical resources but also compromises the quality of individual attention teachers can provide, potentially affecting academic outcomes across the province.