2020 school year: ‘Register your child early’
Gauteng parents urged to register early for the 2020 school year.
The civil rights organisation, AfriForum, has urged parents to register their children for the 2020 school year as soon as the registration process opens.
Although the Gauteng Department of Education has not yet made any official announcement about when parents can register, AfriForum announced in a statement on Wednesday, 17 April that they found out after several attempts that the Gauteng school registration platform for the 2020 school year will open on 13 May.
According to Carien Bloem, AfriForum’s Project Coordinator for Education, “The proposed school regulations for the 2020 school year were approved in March, after the changes attracted a lot of opposition last year. Parents need to know how these changes will affect their children and preferred schools.
The changes, she said, include, among others, that the language of instruction is not important, which means that any child can be placed in any school even if they cannot speak the school’s language of instruction. Children can also be placed in any school within a 30km radius, which will bring about numerous transportation and support problems for parents and children.
She added that the powers of governing bodies are drastically restricted by these regulations and parents and learners will not be adequately represented by the school governing body.
“The MEC is however continuing with his transformation and integration plan at schools.
The problem is that the quality of education in Gauteng is not going to improve with multiracial, integrated schools, but rather with more focus on mother-tongue education and the building of more schools to create a more favourable educational environment for learners in Gauteng.
“We are planning a comprehensive campaign to support parents with the online registration process. We are encouraging parents to stay informed about everything regarding the registration process to prevent their children from becoming a victim of this system, which may have negative consequences for your children’s entire school career,” Carien concluded.
