“From 1 October 2026, your child will again attend school every day (5 days a week). To arrange this, a number of pupils will temporarily attend another school location, somewhat further from home,” according to a notice on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.
The ministry’s leadership understands that this will not be easy and that parents and children will need some time to get used to it. School transport will therefore be properly and safely arranged, so that the children arrive neatly on time. “Please note, this is for a short period only and solely for the first quarter.” Construction of classrooms at certain schools has already begun. From 1 January 2027, pupils who have been placed far from home can return to their own familiar location close to home. “Together, we ensure good education for our children.”
Minister Dirk Currie recently presented several worrying statistics, which showed that there will be a shortage of 4,800 places for pupils who will attend primary school for the first time in October. He said that, according to the records of the Centraal Bureau voor Burgerzaken (CBB), there are 9,244 four-year-olds, of whom 4,786 have already registered for enrolment, while 4,458 still need to register for grade 1.
However, the number of available places at primary schools is only 4,444. This results in a shortage of 4,800 places. The minister said that schools and additional classrooms are currently being built and hopes that these can be put into use in October, allowing all pupils to be accommodated.
Currie further said that an online pre-registration was held for grade 1 in July, during which 2,572 pupils registered, while 2,214 pupils were registered through the schools, bringing the total number of new enrolments that had already taken place on 22, 23 and 24 July to 4,786 pupils.
He stressed that enrolments have not been suspended, so new registrations can be received every day and these pupils will also be placed at a school. So far, 356 schools, offering 4,444 places, are available, while other schools and classrooms are still being built.
His presentation also showed that, in the transition from grade 8 to grade 9, around 2,592 pupils need to be placed at a VO school, but only 1,496 places are available. “So we are facing an excess of 1,096 pupils who need to be placed.”
