By KEDIONE MOLAETSI
26 November 2025- The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education has expressed concern over unresolved allegations of racial profiling and discriminatory practices in school admissions in the Western Cape. The committee on Tuesday received a briefing from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) on its performance in the first and second quarters of this financial year.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Joy Maimela said members stressed that these allegations are neither new nor vague and were formally presented during a previous meeting attended by the department. Maimela said the committee reminded the department that it had been explicitly instructed to investigate the allegations and report back.
“The committee does not accept the department’s response that it cannot proceed without individual cases being provided by the committee. The parents’ complaints were recorded months ago.
“The committee’s directive was aimed at determining whether patterns in school admissions suggest that certain schools are effectively reserved for particular races. With the academic year ending, the committee has been overwhelmed with placement complaints,” she said.
Maimela further said the department must clarify its position unambiguously. She added that, if it is unwilling to investigate, it must state so formally so that the committee can respond in terms of its constitutional oversight mandate.
“In addition, the committee was also concerned about the department’s quarterly reporting and the pace of progress on several key performance indicators. Although some performance indicators are measured annually, we stressed that quarterly milestones are important for monitoring whether the department is on track to achieve targets.
“We flagged several areas where the department had provided no quarterly updates despite the committee’s repeated requests. This includes requests to report on the percentage of learners achieving 60% or above in Mathematics and Physical Sciences,” said Maimela.
She said to assess whether this annual target is realistic, the committee needs term-test performance data and clarity on the baseline number of learners enrolled for these subjects.
“Members also wanted to know how many learners participated in the recent bilingual Grade 4 pilot assessments, the level of preparation across centres and the extent of curriculum support for teachers,” she said.
Maimela said the committee welcomed this milestone, but members stressed that they need to understand whether the initiative was implemented equitably and adequately. She wanted to know why the number of districts monitored for foundation phase teacher training has been reduced.
“We flagged this as contradictory, as the department has issued warnings about weak reading-for-meaning outcomes and yet it decided to reduce monitoring from 40 to 27 districts.
“Monitoring is critical for identifying gaps in teacher capacity and designing appropriate interventions,” said Maimela.
The Guardian 