POLOKWANE – The Spokesperson for the Department of Education, Tidimalo Chuene says concerned parents, whose children have been not been placed in schools yet, will be updated by the department, today.
Chuene’s remarks follow protests by a group of parents raising concerns over the admission process of unplaced learners in Polokwane. The group, on Tuesday, protested outside the building where the MEC of Education, Polly Boshielo announced the results of the 2020 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, after which a memorandum was handed over.
“Onica Dederen, the Deputy Director General for District Management and Institutional Governance, has been given the task to liaise with them (parents). The challenges experienced in concluding the process are mainly due to a lack of space in their school of choice, or those whose parents migrated to new areas after the application processes had closed,” she said.
A concerned parent told Review that her children were rejected at most schools in the city.
“The residential addresses of the people gathered here are all from Polokwane, but they did not place our children. The schools are full and they said we need to go to the Department of Education,” she explained.
The woman said they were instructed to communicate with someone from the department via email, but said nothing transpired from it.
“I continued calling the official, asking for the status of my child’s placement,” she said.
As her pleas went unanswered, she decided to join other parents at Tuesday’s protest.
“They placed some of our children, but not at their parent’s school of choice. My concern with the school my child has been placed at is that there are mobile classrooms which are not in a good condition. They are unkept,” she added.
The parents are demanding that their children be placed at specific schools that “are safe and where our children can be taught”.
She said their children are currently at home and left behind when it comes to their education.
“They do not care if they place our kids or not. Our memorandum demands that our kids should be in school on Friday,” she concluded.
Chuene assured parents and guardians that the department deems the matter of school admissions as critical and that all is being done to ensure that their children are placed in schools for the 2021 academic year.
Also read: Local parents stage sit-in outside Department of Education
