The school year is set to get off to a rocky start on Wednesday with some desperate Gauteng parents queuing outside district offices for placement for their children, many KwaZulu-Natal pupils not expected to receive learning materials, and the Western Cape scrambling to process hundreds of "new and extremely late" applications. 

The Western Cape is processing 609 applications received during the first 10 days of January while providing places for 2 636 Grade 1 and Grade 8 pupils.

The province had already allocated places to 120 778 pupils in these two grades.

Mpumalanga will be trying to fill 332 vacant teaching posts – 20 for principals, 71 for deputy principals and 241 for heads of department.

Thirona Moodley, CEO of the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of SA (Naptosa) in KwaZulu-Natal, said they had been inundated with complaints from frustrated principals who had not received learning materials because they had not been given any money from the department.

Section 21 (c) schools in KwaZulu-Natal can buy their own stationery with funds provided by the provincial education department.

"Schools placed orders for learning materials in 2023, and due to the department failing to pay schools, they could not pay service providers and, therefore, have not received learning materials for 2024.

"This will make teaching and learning impossible on the first day."

She said schools received a fraction of their funds for LTSM [learner-teacher support material] on Tuesday.

"When will the schools place orders for stationery, and when will these orders arrive? School principals are at the receiving end of a dysfunctional department, and learners are innocent victims," Moodley said.

The DA's education spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal, Imran Keeka, said stationery suppliers who had spoken to him on condition of anonymity said some schools had not yet paid their bill for January 2023.

"It is very concerning that schools are buying stationery on credit because payments haven't been [made] by the provincial education department. The schools have now told suppliers that they can only pay when they receive all their money."

The KwaZulu-Natal education department did not respond to media queries, but in a statement on school readiness, it stated that there was a 100% delivery of LTSM to schools that were ordered through the central procurement process.

"The department allocated funds to S21c schools to buy textbooks and stationery, and schools were requested to give an indication of the prospective order value, and funds were prioritised in terms of the inputs".

It said the department also issued directives for all orders to be placed with school service providers "with the expectation that deliveries will be made on time and the department is satisfied that this was done according to the instruction from head office".

Western Cape education department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond told News24 that "Grade 10 transfer requests" which included requests to be transferred to top-performing schools in the area were the highest.

"Traditionally, we have between 14 000 and 18 000 learners from other provinces registering in Western Cape each year, largely from Eastern Cape."

She said despite a R716.4-million blow to their budget, "we are fighting hard to expand the number of places available at schools in Western Cape".

"We will still build 10 new schools to accommodate the learners applying for the 2024 school year, as well as 496 classrooms in areas of high demand for placement. Our officials and schools are working under extreme pressure to make sure that they find a place for every child."

Textbooks worth R49-million were delivered in October, and stationery and furniture worth R24-million and R17.5-million, respectively, were delivered in December 2023.

A Gauteng parent of a Grade 9 pupil, who was previously studying in Eastern Cape, said he failed to find a place for his son despite applying on time in 2023.

The frustrated parent stood patiently in a queue at West Ridge High School in Roodepoort on Tuesday, hoping to find a school.

"I was turned down at two other schools. One of the schools, Krugersdorp High School, informed me on 11 October 2023 that the school was full and that my child was placed on the school's waiting list for 2024."

The Democratic Alliance's education spokesperson in Gauteng, Sergio Dos Santos, said he received a call from a councillor in Ekurhuleni who indicated that about 200 pupils in his area had not yet been placed at schools.

"Some schools are very well-equipped to deal with the new cohort of learners while others are not. Infrastructure is probably one of the biggest problems. We should be aiming to build 20 to 25 schools per year, and we are not even getting close to that."

The Gauteng Education Department did not respond to media queries.

Limpopo Education Department spokesperson Mike Maringa said books and stationery were delivered in October 2023 and that they will only deal with the supply of the "topping up" of textbooks where needed.

"School nutrition was delivered on Monday and Tuesday, and the province is ready."

Northern Cape Education Department spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe said 23 913 applications for placement were received and that 99% of applicants were placed at schools.

He said all schools received their LTSM.

"Learner transport is currently provided to 26 776 learners on 446 routes operated by 240 service providers across all five districts in the province. We can confirm that all 446 routes will be operational when the schools reopen."

Van der Merwe said of 378 promotional posts advertised, 238 were filled.

"A total of 13 posts were lost due to a drop in learner numbers at schools, and 118 posts are in the process of being re-advertised while nine posts are still outstanding.

"The department has a total of 1 937 temporary educators in the system and the appointments are in the process of being effected to ensure that all educators are paid at the end of January 2024."  

Senior officials from Free State, including Premier Mxolisi Dukwana, and Education MEC, Makalo Mohale, will visit schools on Wednesday to monitor the start of schooling, during which they will also donate school uniforms and shoes for needy pupils.

Mpumalanga said in a statement that 353 schools will benefit from the scholar transport programme, which will be provided to 72 809 pupils.

A total of 924 015 pupils will receive meals at schools across the province.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, and Education MEC Matome Chiloane will attend the opening of the new Kgatoentle Secondary School in Ga-Rankuwa, outside Pretoria, on Wednesday.