A mounting education crisis has emerged in Cape Town’s Bloekombos and Wallacedene communities, where scores of children remain without high school placements despite some parents applying nearly a year in advance, prompting intervention from human rights advocates who have now escalated the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission.
Lindo Phito, from the Community Services Advisory in Wards 101 and 6 of the City of Cape Town, contacted authorities after parents of approximately 100 children approached him regarding their children—predominantly Grade 8 and 9 learners—who remain without school places. However, the actual number of children without school placements in the area is believed to be much higher.
Schools at breaking point
“I consulted officials at the WCED district office in Kuils River and the education office in Cape Town, and was advised by the department to approach the four high schools in the area, just to be told by them that there was no space available,” he says.
According to Phito, these schools currently accommodate between 50 and 60 learners per class. Phito described the situation as an annual crisis affecting the area comprising both government housing and informal settlements. He noted that whilst some parents had applied as early as March the previous year and others were late applicants, none of the children had been placed. He criticised the WCED for inadequate planning to address the recurring issue in areas experiencing rapid population growth as people migrate to these communities.
Department cites late applications as key factor
In response to a media inquiry, the WCED confirmed it has maintained direct contact with Phito and engaged with him on several occasions. The department explained that Phito initially provided a list of learner names, the majority of whom had not yet submitted applications.
According to the WCED, it has since received a refined list of 29 names, revealing that six learners applied late in November of the previous year, six had not applied at all, and a further 17 submitted applications extremely late in January. The department stated that it has successfully placed three of these learners, and acknowledged that many of the learners represent new applications in the province.
We are trying to assist and place learners as fast as possible, but parents must also recognise that by applying late, it could result in a period of waiting to be placed as we find places.
However, the department cautioned that late applications could result in waiting periods as suitable placements are identified, taking into consideration factors such as language, grade, subject choice, and place of residence. The department furthermore noted that the school system requires time to settle, with additional places typically becoming available after the tenth school day when low enrolment numbers are determined.
“We are trying to assist and place learners as fast as possible, but parents must also recognise that by applying late, it could result in a period of waiting to be placed as we find places. We also have to factor in language, grade, subject choice and place of residence,” says education spokesperson Bronagh Hammond. “The WCED has also indicated that the system needs to settle. Places do become available after the tenth school day, as we determine low enrolment numbers.” The WCED clarified that School Governing Bodies (SGBs), rather than the department itself, make final decisions regarding learner acceptance.
“The department’s role is to facilitate the process and negotiate with SGBs to accommodate learners, whilst the governing bodies apply their respective admission policies,” she says.
Playing catch-up with exploding demand
Concerningly, the situation highlights ongoing challenges in providing adequate educational infrastructure in rapidly growing informal settlement areas of Cape Town, where demand for school places continues to outstrip available capacity.
At the heart of the matter lies the well-documented issue of the influx of impoverished migrants arriving from the Eastern Cape, and a Western Cape government battling to keep up with infrastructure development.
The result is a socio-spatial paradox, a high-functioning city increasingly burdened by the pressures of national failure.
In his research findings published in ISS African Futures, Burgert Gildenhuys, a leading authority in municipal planning and infrastructure investment, writes that between 2011 and 2022, Cape Town’s overall population grew by 27.6% and the total number of households increased by approximately 36%.
“The result is a socio-spatial paradox, a high-functioning city increasingly burdened by the pressures of national failure. Absorbing the consequences of state decay elsewhere without the fiscal or institutional mechanisms to do so indefinitely,” he writes.
Responding to the crisis, the WCED in 2022 announced its ambitious school infrastructure delivery programme to deliver 842 additional classrooms with at least 26,000 places for learners in the province. At the time the department stated that this number vastly exceeded the delivery of classrooms in previous years, and was made possible then by an R830 million increase in the infrastructure budget in 2022/2023.
However, in early 2024, provincial minister Maynier announced that after a R716.4 million cut to the provincial education budget by the National Treasury, the department was forced to scale back its infrastructure plans.
Completed projects as of 2026 include nine new schools and 175 classrooms have been added to existing schools, in Lwandle, Wallacedene, Blue Downs, Philippi among others.
When questioned whether the department could realistically accommodate the growing population of predominantly Eastern Cape residents relocating to these areas, the WCED did not provide particulars. The inquiry specifically addressed concerns about the long-term viability of school provision given ongoing demographic shifts, with particular reference to informal settlements that expanded in Bloekombos during the Covid-19 pandemic.
And on the question of the total number of learners yet to be placed in the province, Hammond indicated that these numbers would be released to media next week.
