Sopa: Lesufi unveils AI campus for Gauteng

Premier Panyaza Lesufi has announced plans to position Gauteng at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) development.

Delivering his 2026 State of the Province Address (Sopa) address at Nasrec in Johannesburg on Monday evening, Lesufi said the province must prepare pupils for a rapidly evolving digital future.

“I want to thank Telkom for donating a full campus to teach our children Artificial Intelligence (AI),” he said.

“The world is accelerating at breakneck speed towards general AI and Artificial Super Intelligence. This evolution will remarkably change the world as we know it.”

Lesufi said AI presents “boundless” opportunities, including improving water and electricity infrastructure, protecting systems from cyberattacks, corruption and fraud, and strengthening the fight against lawlessness.

As part of this drive, Gauteng is considering establishing an AI office to coordinate with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), state entities, and the private sector.

“This will be in line with our vision and mission to realise an AI-infused future for our province,” Lesufi said.

New schools to ease pressure

While outlining the province’s digital ambitions, Lesufi once again acknowledged ongoing challenges around school access and online admissions.

“Our school admission online registration process will be improved and strengthened to ease the pain and frustration of our parents,” he said, describing the system as an important transformation tool to ensure schools are accessible to all children.

To address the shortage of schools, the province is constructing 18 additional schools. Two new schools opened in January, and Ratanang Primary School in Hammanskraal is set to open next month.

The school will feature 28 classrooms, computer labs, a fully digitised teaching environment, and sports facilities.

“No one invests better in township school infrastructure than us,” Lesufi said.

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Scholar transport safety

Lesufi further addressed the tragic scholar transport accident in Vanderbijlpark that claimed the lives of 14 pupils.

“We must do so much more to ensure that the lives of our children are safe and sound,” he said.

The province will strengthen and monitor scholar transport regulations and appeal to operators to comply fully.

“Let me also appeal to the scholar transport industry to comply with the regulation to ensure that our children are transported to school safely,” Lesufi said.

Record matric results

Lesufi also celebrated the matric class of 2025 for achieving an 89.06% pass rate. The highest overall pass rate since the introduction of the National Senior Certificate (NSC).

“Allow me to also congratulate the matric class of 2025 on attaining 89.06%, the highest ever overall pass rate achieved by the Grade 12 cohort since the introduction of the NSC qualification,” he said.

He said 20 township schools achieved a 100% matric pass rate, outperforming many former Model C schools. Four of those schools recorded Bachelor pass rates of above 90%.

“I want to single out these two township schools in particular,” Lesufi said, highlighting Lufhereng Secondary School, where 179 of 182 pupils achieved Bachelor passes, and Siyabonga Secondary School, where 197 of 212 matric pupils obtained Bachelor passes.

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