The Department of Education has announced the postponement of the placement of Grade 1 and 8 learners for 2020 to 18 September.
The department had previously announced that it would commence the placement of learners on 30 August, however, the date has been changed to 18 September. “Parents of learners who have submitted required documents should, therefore, expect to receive offers of placement via SMS from 18 September to 31 October,” said spokesperson for the Department of Education, Steve Mabona.
He said the postponement was done to allow the department and schools enough time to scrutinise and verify all schools’ waiting lists to warrant that no child would be unfairly disadvantaged. Mabona added that officials and schools were currently engaged in extended verification of schools’ waiting lists in line with the admissions criteria.
“The department wishes to reiterate that the WA1–WA4 numbers issued during the application period will not be used as the basis to determine placement. Offers of placement will not be sent to all parents on the same day, as the department will be processing offers systematically in line with the order of application options outlined in the admissions regulations,” said Mabona.
Once a placement offer has been received, they must be accepted within seven school days. “Therefore, the first offers received must be accepted by 8 October. School holidays are not counted as part of the seven school days. However, parents are welcome to visit the districts or head office to accept offers during the September school holidays,” added Mabona.
Offers can be accepted online or by visiting the nearest school. “We would like to appeal to parents to remain calm as it will be impossible for all parents to receive an SMS on the same day. Parents must also remember that the capacity of each school will determine a final number of learners to be admitted at a school,” concluded Mabona.
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