Manyane Manyane|Published
Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube has been accused of failing to meet a legally binding, court-ordered deadline to fix overcrowding in schools.
Education advocacy groups Equal Education (EE) and the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) have called on Gwarube to explain the delay and provide a clear date for the publication of final School Capacity Norms, adding that three years have passed since the Gauteng High Court ordered her to promulgate the final norms.
Overcrowding in public schools
This is after the court on October 10, 2023, ordered the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to develop and publish school capacity regulations within three years in a case brought by the South African Teachers’ Union (Satu).
The union filed the lawsuit to force the government to address chronic overcrowding in public schools, which they argued severely compromised the working conditions of teachers and compromised the quality of education.
The union also argued that the absence of strict, legally binding capacity regulations prevented school governing bodies and education departments from accurately determining when a school was genuinely full, leading to unmanageable influxes of learners without matching infrastructure or resources.
However, the deadline expired on October 9, 2026.
Draft regulations on school capacity
The organisations said as long as these critical regulations are left unpublished, learners continue to bear the consequences such as overcrowded classrooms, limited individual attention from teachers, mobile classrooms becoming permanent structures, and an ongoing school admissions crisis.
Gwarube’s spokesperson Lukhanyo Vangqa said the draft regulations on school capacity and admissions were gazetted for public comment and were tabled and approved at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).
Vangqa added the regulations are now being processed by the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME).
“The final regulations will be gazetted imminently”, he said.
The organisations said the comments from the public meetings and workshops were consolidated into a submission to DBE, which was sent in December 2025.
The organisations said their submission highlighted several critical gaps, including the absence of a definition of overcrowding, clear implementation deadlines, and clarity on the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders.
Learner education ratio
“We also raised concerns about inconsistencies between the proposed formula for calculating classroom capacity and the teacher-to-learner ratios set out in the draft.”
“In addition, EE developed shadow capacity norms that take into consideration the realities of schools that are already overcrowded and under-resourced. We sought an opportunity to present these proposals to the DBE. However, despite the expectation that the DBE would respond, we have yet to receive the promised feedback,” said the organisations.
School overcrowding in South Africa is a severe and deepening crisis, particularly in high-growth urban and township areas, straining infrastructure and impacting academic outcomes.
The national learner-educator ratio (LER) averages 33:1, well above the OECD average of 16:1, and frequently surges to 50:1 to 70:1 (or over 80–100 learners in extreme cases in provinces such as the Eastern Cape and Gauteng).
Build more schools
According to the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), public school enrolment in the province has doubled from 1.4 million in 1995 to over 2.8 million in 2026, driven by rapid urbanisation and inward migration. Education MEC Lebogang Maile declared a state of crisis, revealing that nearly half (48%) of public schools in Gauteng are operating beyond capacity, with an immediate shortage of at least 200 new schools and over 5,500 classrooms to stabilise the system.
According to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), KwaZulu-Natal also recorded the highest average classroom loads in South Africa, with a ratio of 39 learners to 1 teacher (compared to a national average of 31:1). Oversight visits by the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education also highlighted extreme cases, such as Grade R classes holding 48 learners and other grades ranging from 58 to 77 learners per class in districts like Ugu.
Earlier this year, GOOD Party also revealed that schools in the Cape Winelands Municipality are facing an escalating crisis of overcrowded classrooms, with some forcing 50 to 60 learners into spaces designed for only 30.
A teacher at a primary school in Evaton, south of Joburg, attested to the situation, saying overcrowding is a serious problem that should be addressed urgently.
“I have 52 learners in my class, which makes it incredibly difficult to pay attention to everyone. It is especially hard on the children who are slower learners,” she said.
Another teacher pleaded with the government to employ teachers and build more schools in order to resolve the situation.
Learners suffer in overcrowded classrooms
Education activist Hendrick Makaneta said a court order is not a recommendation that an executive authority may implement at its convenience, adding that the Minister and her department should have communicated if they encountered genuine obstacles and addressed through lawful processes before the deadline expired.
He added that the department should immediately provide a public explanation, identify outstanding administrative or legal processes and commit to a clear publication date, adding that continued silence will only undermine public confidence in the department's commitment to the rule of law.
He said while the department has done some technical work and consultation on school capacity regulations, consultation cannot be used as an excuse for missing a court-ordered deadline while learners suffer in overcrowded classrooms.