As of Monday, 22 October 2018, a total of 54 773 or 19,37 per cent of the learners who registered for Grades 1 and 8 for 2019 have not been placed – 25 913 for Grade 1 and 28 860 for Grade 8.
In a statement released earlier this week, Steve Mabona, GDE spokesperson said, “A total number of 228 050 (80,63 per cent) learners have been placed in public schools as of 22 October. Out of that figure, 123 548 Grade 1 and 104 502 Grade 8 learners have been placed.
“It is concerning that about 34 109 learners have not submitted the required documents, as per admissions regulations.”
He added that the Department is working tirelessly to ensure that all unplaced learners who applied during the application period are placed by the 31 October 2018 deadline.
“We wish to appeal to parents who have not yet submitted the required documents to immediately visit their nearest District Office for necessary submission. It must be emphasised that failure to submit the required documents will hinder the process of placing the learners. It must be noted that all unplaced learners will be offered placement at schools with available space, but regrettably, it might not be at their school of choice.
“The Department has a total of about 2 013 Public Ordinary Schools that offer Grades 1 and 8. Most of these schools received applications beyond their school’s capacity. To date, more than 440 schools have already reached capacity, and we will not overcrowd them.”
Panyaza Lesufi, Gauteng Education MEC said, “We appeal to parents not to despair as we are working around the clock to ensure that all learners are placed.”
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