On Monday afternoon, Gauteng MEC for education Panyaza Lesufi held a media briefing at which he apologised for the chaos caused by an SMS sent out by his department.
Parents of children who had not yet been placed in schools for the 2020 academic year received a bulk SMS on Sunday telling them to go to the nearest Gauteng department of education (GDE) office in their district.
But chaos erupted due to a lack of capacity at the venues. Lesufi later indicated that the SMS had been sent prematurely, sending another bulk SMS to apologise.
Lesufi apologised for the parents about the SMS erroneously going out.
At a meeting this morning, officials apologised to the MEC for the error, Lesufi said.
He added that the situation was under control and that the date for placements had been extended to November 30.
He did, however, admit that 34,553 learners, or 15% of all Gauteng learners, do not yet have spaces in Gauteng schools.
Lesufi added that of these, 13,000 were in grade one and 21,000 were in grade eight.
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The MEC acknowledged that new regulations pertaining to feeder zones have been confusing to parents.
“You can be 6km from the school, but there is another parent that is 2km away. We must prioritise that learner,” he explained.