The Gauteng Department of Education investigated 61 schools suspected of operating without registration between January and September 2026, serving formal closure letters on 32 of them. Seven of those targeted have since ceased operating entirely, while four have applied to become registered institutions, MEC Lebogang Maile told a media briefing in Johannesburg on 13 September 2026.
Maile said the intensified enforcement drive builds on a similar sweep in 2025 that saw 57 unregistered schools visited and 31 closure letters issued. He stressed that shutting down an illegal operation does not resolve the wider problem because displaced learners still need legitimate placements.
“Where an institution is found to be operating unlawfully, it is instructed to cease operating and the relevant closure process is followed,” Maile said. “The department does not regard the closure of an illegal school as the end of the matter because the learners still require education.”
The crackdown follows a public warning from the department in January 2026 urging parents to verify a school’s registration status before paying fees. Pupils enrolled at unregistered institutions are not listed on the Education Management Information System, rendering their reports invalid for transfers and leaving the schools unfunded.
At the same briefing, Maile announced the province would spend R1.13 billion subsidising qualifying independent schools in the 2026/27 financial year. Around R621 million is earmarked for primary-phase schools and R508 million for secondary institutions.
Gauteng currently has 1,083 registered independent schools serving 379,727 learners and employing 24,974 educators, according to departmental figures. Maile said the subsidy allocation was guided by the South African Schools Act and the Constitution, which allow the government to support independent schools that meet set criteria.
“The constitution allows the government to subsidise independent schools, while the South African Schools Act provides the framework through which qualifying institutions may receive this support,” the department stated.
A Cape Flats News journalist attended the briefing and independently verified the enforcement numbers with the department. The figures do not include two school directors reportedly arrested during the crackdown; officials declined to confirm those arrests and said further details would be released once charges are formalised.
Maile appealed to parents to contact the department before enrolling children at any school they are unsure about. The department expects to carry out additional unannounced visits before the end of the third school term, with further closure orders likely.