North West education MEC, Viola Motsumi has made a plea to parents to stop making demands for schools of their choice, as they are no longer available due to space constraints.
Potchefstroom and Rustenburg are one of the areas that are experiencing a high number of parents that are still looking for placement for their children.
On Monday, 26 January 2026 Motsumi appealed to parents to accept schools allocated to them at the Local Education Office Hubs.
According to the departmental spokesperson, Vuyo Mantshule, registration of learners is closed now the department is placing learners where there is space.
“The Department has observed that many parents are rejecting the schools where their children have been placed. In some cases, they return to the hubs to request placement at other schools.
“The Rustenburg, Potchefstroom and Mafikeng Local Education Offices are regarded as hotspot areas in the province, where large numbers of parents visit daily in search of school placements. Officials work tirelessly each day to assist parents by placing learners in available schools,” said Mantshule.
Motsumi, has urged parents to cooperate and work with departmental officials.
“On behalf of the Department, I would like to plead with all parents who are still seeking school placements to cooperate and work with departmental officials at the hubs. One of the challenges we are experiencing is that some parents continue to demand schools of their choice. I would like to inform them that schools of choice are no longer available, as they are already full. The South African Constitution emphasises that every learner has the right to education; therefore, we are doing our utmost to place all learners in schools where space is available,” said Motsumi.
Moving pupils to different schools due to failure is also not seen as the best approach.
Instead, Motsumi encouraged parents to work with educators to assess the learner’s current subject profile.
“Often, realigning learners’ subjects to better match their strengths and career interests is a more effective way to ensure future academic success than simply changing schools.”
