In May 2012, parents queued in cold weather outside a popular preschool in Gauteng, South Africa, and some camped from Monday morning to submit admission applications. Required documents included a birth certificate and proof of residence. Once an application was accepted, a reference number showed the child's position on one of two waiting lists, divided by whether home or work lay within five kilometres of the school.
Beyond the first-come line at the gate stood a second, administrative queue. Arriving early did not guarantee the preferred school; residence helped determine another order. At the entrance to education, bodies in a physical line and names on a numbered list overlapped.