Despite Sue Parry, principal of Dayspring International Study Centre, insisting her facility is a study centre and not a school, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has instructed her to register it as such.
Here is a condensed version of the registration procedure to be followed:
•The application is submitted to the GDE district office before 31 August preceding the year in which the college is intended to start operating.
•All applications must be accompanied by the required documents as identified in Clause 3 (2) of Regulation 248.
•The district office evaluates the site of the school and both the IDSO and the district director sign and make a recommendation in the application form.
•The application then is sent to the Systems Unit at GDE head office.
•Then the documents in the application are evaluated and the application is sent to the School Effectiveness Unit for one of the officers to visit the school to verify the findings of the district office.
•A report is developed and then sent to the Systems Unit.
•The Systems Unit uses that report as a basis for the development of a submission.
•This submission is circulated to all senior managers for recommendation and then to the HOD and the MEC who either will approve the application or turn it down.
•If it is approved, an EMIS (Educational Management Information System) registration number is obtained from EMIS.
•The school and the district office are informed of the registration of the school.
•If the application is rejected by the HOD then the school is informed of the rejection and reasons for doing so.
According to the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 96) under the heading ‘Supporting Documents’, during the application to register a school “a certified copy of a valid certificate from the relevant municipality confirming that the proposed facilities will meet the requirements of the municipal by-laws” must be provided. Owing to Dayspring not having the consent of use, the GDE has refused to allow it to operate any further.
