‘This isn’t just a system downtime’: Education technology expert raises warning over school report delays
· Citizen
An education technology expert has warned that delays in issuing school reports have exposed the fragility of critical digital infrastructure in the education sector.
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The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) this week confirmed that term two reports will be delayed for the next week due to technical difficulties experienced on the South African Schools Administration and Management System (SA-SAMS).
CEO of the D6 school communications application, Willem Kitshoff, said the issue extends beyond a temporary outage.
He said the incident had brought renewed attention to the reliance of core education functions on a single national platform, especially considering that technical challenges mean that schools are unable to access or even finalise report cards due to system downtime linked to the CITRIZ environment supporting SA-SAMS.
“This is not just a system downtime issue,” he said.
According to Kitshoff, wider structural concerns arise when systems fail, causing essential academic progress to a halt, which directly affects learners, educators, and families.
Kitshoff added that when platforms used are not stable, reliable and scalable, it means a core function of schooling is interrupted at scale.
Broader concerns
He questioned the technological software process conducted by the GDE and called for greater transparency regarding the system itself.
Kitshoff noted that there are also broader concerns regarding the management and future of the system, including what it costs to operate SA-SAMS, and what the renewal and modernisation of the platform will require financially and structurally.
Given that SA-SAMS contains sensitive personal data for millions of learners, parents and staff members, questions of data governance, protection and accountability are also central to the discussion.
The Citizen has reached out to the GDE for comment on its software processes. The response will be added once received.
Repeated disruptions
Kitshoff also emphasised that repeated disruptions point to the need for a fundamental shift in how education technology systems are designed, supported, and maintained.
“We need to move away from systems that are vulnerable to single points of failure.
“Education infrastructure must be designed for continuity, not just functionality in ideal conditions,” he added.
Resilience planning
Kitshoff argued that the response must now move beyond restoration and into long-term system strengthening, supported by deeper collaboration between government and the private sector.
This includes modernising underlying architecture, improving compatibility between systems, and embedding stronger continuity mechanisms to ensure schools can operate even during outages.
“The reality is that education systems are now a digital infrastructure. They should be treated with the same level of excellence and resilience planning as other critical national systems.”
Collaboration over competition
Kitshoff emphasised that the private sector has a meaningful role to play, not as a replacement for public systems, but as a long-term partner in strengthening them.
He also called for closer collaboration between government and technology providers to improve system resilience, conduct infrastructure reviews, and accelerate modernisation efforts.
“There is significant capability within South Africa’s technology sector.”
“The opportunity is to channel that expertise into building systems that are stable, scalable, and resilient enough for real-world conditions,” Kitshoff added.
Catalyst for reform
He noted that the current disruption should be reviewed as a catalyst for reform rather than an isolated incident.
“The goal should not only be to restore systems when they fail, but to ensure that when they do, learning and administration do not come to a standstill.”
Kitshoff concluded that as digital transformation accelerates across the education sector, the incident has intensified calls for a shift from reactive fixes to long-term resilience planning, anchored in collaboration, modern infrastructure, and future-ready design.