Staff Reporter

At least 153 Gauteng learners needing specialised schooling are out of class while they wait for placement.

Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile said on Thursday during an update on the status of inclusive education in the province that 702 learners were being supported while awaiting placement in Special Schools.

Of those, 419 were currently attending school, while 153 were out of school and receiving support through Resource Centres, together with their families.

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A further 52 learners were in Special Care Centres, while 140 learners were expected to enter Special Schools offering the Technical Occupational Curriculum in 2027.

The largest group awaiting placement comprised 213 learners with autism, or 30.3% of the total, followed by 164 learners with severe intellectual disabilities, and 140 with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities.

Another 112 learners had specific learning disabilities. Together, those four categories accounted for almost 90% of identified placement demand, the department said.

“Placement is not determined simply by whether an empty classroom exists. It requires appropriate specialist capacity, transport, hostel availability where necessary, therapeutic services, proximity to families and a suitable match between the learner’s needs and the services available at a particular school,” Maile said.

The province has expanded the number of Special Schools from 94 in 2012 to 131, an increase of 37 schools, or 39.4%, but said demand continued to place pressure on available capacity.

Gauteng has more than 2.8 million learners across more than 2,200 public schools, with about 43,000 learners attending Special Schools.

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A further 9,735 learners with disabilities are accommodated in ordinary mainstream schools, while another 38,304 learners identified through annual screening are receiving additional support.

The department said more than 91,039 learners were receiving direct inclusive education and support interventions across the province.

Gauteng is also preparing another 69 mainstream schools for designation as Full-Service Schools, which are equipped to support learners with mild to moderate support needs.

The province currently has 51 Full-Service Schools. The planned expansion would take the total to 120, an increase of about 135%.

Maile said specialist support could not depend solely on expanding the number of Special Schools.

The province currently has 30 Special Schools operating as Resource Centres, which provide assessments, educator development, reading interventions, assistive devices and other support to surrounding mainstream schools.

Special Schools recorded a 95.57% matric pass rate in 2025, when 453 of the 474 learners who wrote the National Senior Certificate examinations passed. That was up from 93.16% in 2024.

“Progress must never become an excuse for complacency,” Maile said.

“We must continue building a Gauteng in which a learner’s disability or support needs do not determine the limits of their future, and where no child is denied the opportunity to learn because the education system was unable to respond to their needs.”

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