LEARNERS STRANDED: Crackdown on unregistered Gauteng schools intensifies as fallout mounts for families

As Gauteng intensifies its crackdown on unregistered independent schools, parents and learners are confronting the consequences of misplaced trust, missing documents and disrupted schooling.

For many Gauteng parents, choosing an independent school is not simply a matter of preference. It may mean finding a school close to home, avoiding overcrowded classrooms or securing education when public-school options feel limited. But families can be left vulnerable when an institution operates without valid registration.

When one mother relocated to the Eastern Cape, she tried to transfer her son from Oceans Private School in Midrand, only to discover that the institution was unregistered, under investigation and sliding into liquidation. When she asked for the transfer letter and academic report needed to enrol him at another school, the principal told her to contact the liquidators.

“I was left to resolve this situation on my own, despite being assured they were registered, and my son’s education was being affected,” said the mother, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her son’s identity.

“He was extremely distressed and cried almost every day when he saw his classmates going to school while he was at home,” she said.

Another mother paid tuition fees for six months at an unaccredited school in Brakpan before realising she had been misled.

“There are so many fly-by-nights, but I thought I was enrolling my child in a reputable private school offering smaller classes and discipline,” she said.

Speaking at a media briefing on Sunday, Gauteng MEC for Education Lebogang Maile said the Gauteng Department of Education had intensified its crackdown on these institutions. He noted that more than 379,000 learners were enrolled in the 1,083 operational independent schools registered across the province, which employed more than 24,000 educators.

Maile emphasised that one of the most pressing challenges in the sector was the legitimacy of operating institutions, adding that Gauteng Department of Education registration and Umalusi accreditation served entirely different purposes.

Registration with the department gave an institution the legal authority to operate as an independent school, and was tied directly to the physical address and premises. Umalusi accreditation related strictly to quality assurance for qualifications within its mandate.

He urged parents to ask which curriculum and examination body a school used, and how their child would be registered for the final examination.

“Parents should also ask to see the school’s education management information system registration certificates and confirm that the Emis [Education Management Information System] number and physical address correspond with the school that the learner will actually be attending,” Maile added.

Between 2025 and September 2026, officials visited 118 schools suspected of operating illegally and issued 63 closure letters. Seven closed permanently, four applied for registration, and two school directors were arrested.

Maile said closure was not the end of the department’s responsibility because displaced learners still required education.