The Gauteng Department of Education has intensified its crackdown on unregistered independent schools, leaving many learners and parents facing uncertainty and disruption. For many parents, choosing an independent school is a matter of finding a school close to home or securing education when public-school options feel limited. However, families can be left vulnerable when an institution operates without valid registration. Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile warned that registration and accreditation serve different purposes.
One mother recounted her experience of trying to transfer her son from Oceans Private School in Midrand, only to discover that the institution was unregistered and under investigation. The principal told her to contact the liquidators for the transfer letter and academic report needed to enrol him at another school. Without the documents, her son missed more than five weeks of school, causing him distress. Another mother paid tuition fees for six months at an unaccredited school in Brakpan before realising she had been misled.
MEC Lebogang Maile stated that more than 379,000 learners were enrolled in 1,083 operational independent schools registered across the province, employing over 24,000 educators. He emphasised that one of the most pressing challenges in the sector was the legitimacy of operating institutions. Maile urged parents to ask about the curriculum and examination body a school used and to see the school's education management information system registration certificates.
Between 2025 and September 2026, officials visited 118 schools suspected of operating illegally and issued 63 closure letters. Seven schools closed permanently, four applied for registration, and two school directors were arrested. Maile said closure was not the end of the department's responsibility, as displaced learners still required education.
Faatima Laher, an attorney in the Education Rights Programme at SECTION27, highlighted that research showed unregistered independent schools were proliferating across rural and low-income communities, preying on undocumented children and anxious parents. When provincial education departments crack down on these schools, they can inherit a complex placement crisis mid-year.
Laher noted that learners from unregistered schools often face challenges when reintegrating into mainstream public schools. Their ages and grades are often badly out of sync, and some learners are far older than they should be for the grade they are attending. In one severe case, a 15-year-old learner could not be reintegrated into a mainstream public school at the required academic grade level.
Laher called for stronger regulatory intervention to prevent fraudulent operators from exploiting vulnerable communities. She suggested that provincial departments of education require clearer registration and monitoring systems, demerit or penalty frameworks, and more proactive inspections alongside community outreach in high-risk areas.
Key points
- Gauteng Department of Education has intensified its crackdown on unregistered independent schools.
- Many learners and parents face disruption and uncertainty due to the crackdown.
- Stronger regulatory intervention is needed to prevent fraudulent operators from exploiting vulnerable communities.
