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School placement period extended as over 43,000 learners scramble for space
The placement period commenced in September and was supposed to end on October 31, but it has now been extended to November 30.
Picture for illustration. File image.
The Gauteng department of education has extended the admission placement period to November 30, reports Kempton Express.
To date, 43,797 Grade 1 and 8 learners have not been placed in schools.
According to Steve Mabona, spokesperson for the department, 310,350 applications were made for Grade 1 and Grade 8. Of these, 27,563 applicants have not submitted any documents, while 282,787 submitted documents as required. The placement period commenced in September and was supposed to end on October 31.
“The placement period commenced on September 23 and is ongoing until all learners are placed. During this period, the department remains committed to placing the 282,787 who submitted documents.
“To date, 234,290 applicants have been placed, while 43,797 are unplaced. It is concerning that about 4,700 applicants have not yet accepted offers of placement. Parents are urged to accept offers of placement as these spaces will not be available after a seven-day period,” said Mabona.
ALSO READ: If an official is attacked we will withdraw our services, Lesufi warns Gauteng parents
411 schools have reached capacity. Most of these schools have already extended their capacity to accommodate as many learners as possible. Applicants who cannot be accommodated at these schools are placed at schools with available space.
We’re fully aware of what’s happening at our district offices. Our sincere apologies, we are getting extra staff members to support us. Unfortunately being a Sunday, we don’t have a full compliment of staff members but we are attending to the situation. I’m on my way to districts
— Panyaza Lesufi (@Lesufi) November 3, 2019
Parents must remain mindful that the regulated admissions criteria prioritises placement in the order of the following categories:
• The applicant learner’s place of residence is closest to the school within the feeder zone
• The applicant learner has a sibling attending the school
• The place of employment of at least one of the applicant learner’s parents is within the feeder zone of the school
• The applicant learner’s place of residence is within a 30km radius of the school
• The applicant learner’s place of residence is beyond a 30km radius of the school
To facilitate a fair placement process, the above criteria is strictly adhered to without fail. Parents should, therefore, accept placement offered by the department as these cannot be changed.
Placements will be made daily until all learners have been allocated schools. Applicants who have not received any placement to date are advised to log on to the system to view placement status and/or contact the nearest district office.
The problem is that our staff members were intimidated and in some instances attacked. We’ve to persuade them to go back to work.We’re trying to resolve the impasse as soon as possible.The major problem is parents who didn’t accept offers and those who didn’t submit documentation https://t.co/muQlNIkOpp
— Panyaza Lesufi (@Lesufi) November 3, 2019
Parents who do not have access to the internet may visit the school or district office where they will be assisted.
Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said: “Parents should… rest assured that the department is obliged to place all learners, and as such all learners will be placed. However, it might not be at schools that they want. It must be noted that schools are making every effort to accommodate all in line with the admissions regulations. We are aware that some of our officials were assaulted, equipment and buildings vandalised. We wish to call upon parents to be calm and not use violence at our offices.”
For queries, parents should call the GDE call centre on 0800 000 789.
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