Gauteng education in numbers

Here are the 10 things you need to know:

1.  Class sizes are within norms and standards

Lesufi said Gauteng received 90 294 new learners from other provinces with the majority from Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, but said class sizes remained within norms and standards.

The MEC said the increase in learner numbers was also reflected in the number of educators the department needed to employ.

The department employed 82 076 new educators.

"We don't have a number of classes that are above the class size that we have committed to keep within the education system," Lesufi said.

2.  The number of learners in special schools has increased

The number of learners in special schools has increased by 4.2 percent from 44 064 learners in 2015 to 46 477 learners in 2016.

"This is a blessing for us. It means the majority of learners with special needs are no longer staying at home. They are openly coming into our schooling environment and want to be accommodated," Lesufi said.

3. Paperless application system for 2017

The department is launching a paperless application system for 2017. All applications will be done online.

Parents and caregivers must apply for their children to be placed in schools from 19 April 2016 until 1 June 2016.

"We are utilizing the period between 11 April 2016 and 7 September to finalise placements," Lesufi said.

Lesufi pleaded with parents to apply for placement to avoid later headaches.

4. 73 000 matriculants have registers for the Secondary School Improvement Programme (SSIP)

Close to R150 million has been spent by the department on the SSIP programme which will run between March and October.

The programme aims to ensure that all Grade 12 learners are ready for their final exams.

5. All Gauteng schools will be re-categorised

All schools will be categorised into four categories (poor, fair, good and great) based on performance.

"If you want to enrol your child in a certain school, you don't have to ask your neighbour...now we are going to have the top schools categorised so that you can go to our website and identify whether you want to enrol your child in that school or not," Lesufi said.

6. Thousands of tablets still outstanding

Lesufi said 4000 learners were still refusing to return tablets belonging to the department of education.

"We call upon all those Grade 12 learners to return those tablets to our schools."

Lesufi added that educators and learners have agreed on how the return of tablets will be managed going forward.

7. The twinning programme is in its eighth month

Three pairs of schools have been twinned and are sharing resources and are each run by one school governing body.

"If a township school does not have a swimming pool, they use a swimming pool at another school. If a township school does not have a hall, they use a hall of another school. They are jointly budgeting and planning together on how to improve education in both the township and urban areas," Lesufi said.

8. Specialisation schools to be introduced

Specialisation schools will nurture top talent. There will be performance schools, aviation schools and engineering schools.

"The first school will be launched in April in Soweto. This school will specialise in engineering, commerce and performing and creative arts," he said.

9. Sanitation overhauls completed at 50 schools

Broken pipes, taps, seats and doors were repaired and ablution facilities were renovated.

"We have handed over the facilities to our learners and we are pleading with them to take care of those facilities," Lesufi said.

10. Over 8000 educators have left the education system

A total of 8233 teachers left the education system in the 2015/2016 financial years.

"The passing of the Taxations Laws Amendment Act caused panic and uncertainty, especially within the education sector. We are quite aware this was postponed, but the effect of it is felt by the education sector," Lesufi said.

Reporting by Slindelo Masikane

Edited by Faith Daniels