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Back to school woes for Gauteng parents

Parents who are looking for space in schools are to report to district offices which function as walk-in centres from January 7 where their unallocated children will be allocated to a school that still has space.

Springs – Many parents queued outside the Department of Basic Education district offices in Springs looking for schools for their Grade One and Grade Eight children.

One of the parents, Ntombifikile Mnisi, says her child went to Geluksdal Primary School and has been allocated to a high school in KwaThema.

“My child has been educated in Afrikaans and English all her life. At home, we only speak those languages. How then, is my child expected to study in Zulu which is taught at the school she has been allocated to?” she says.

Patricia Mkhuliswa, a mother who finds herself in the same predicament as Mnisi, says she will be withholding her vote in the coming elections should her child not be allocated to the school of her choice.

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“No school, no vote,” she says.

“Geluksdal primary schools should be the feeder schools for Geluksdal high school. These children should be the first option for the high school, and remaining spaces be granted to children from other schools.

There is no reason why learners from as far off as Nigel are filling the school when children from Geluksdal primary schools are allocated far away.” she continues.

Another parent, Rose Ngcwabe, says her husband was told by an employee at a Dalpark school that there were 15 spaces and that she could pay a fee of R1 500 to secure the place.

She proceeded to buy the school’s uniform and pay school fees.

Later she was informed by the school’s principal that her child was not allocated to that school and cannot be allocated to it as it has reached capacity.

“The person who told us to pay is now denying ever saying that to us.

I am very stressed because I do not know which school my child is in as the department says they will call me when my child has been allocated.” she says.

These problems, according to the parents, only started when the centralised online application system was put in place.

The system, which began operating in 2016 for the 2017 school year, requires parents to apply on the Gauteng Department of Education website.

Applications for the 2019 school year opened on April 16, 2018, and closed on May 28, 2018.

Parents were to register on the website and submit all supporting documents there.

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From June 18, 2018, to August 3, 2018, parents were informed via SMS of the outcome of their applications and were to respond within seven school days of receiving their acceptance note.

All children who were not allocated to schools by this date were to be placed in schools that have not reached capacity.

On October 9, 2018, late applications were opened and the applicants were placed in available schools.

The parents have called for the department to revert to the walk-in system where parents deal directly with the school.

Parents looking at the list of schools that still have space for Grade One and Grade Eight learners for 2019.

“Online must fall” says Mkhuliswa.

“It was much easier when you just went to the school and applied there,” she concludes.

A media release from the Gauteng Department of Education states that as of January 7, 282 823 early applications were received and

266 613 were allocated to schools.

The remaining 16 210 are yet to submit supporting documents or accept the offers.

The statement continues to state that parents who are looking for space are to report to district offices which function as walk-in centres from January 7 where their unallocated children will be allocated to a school that still has space.

The department notes the problems faced by parents which include following up on appeals, new applicants and existing applicants trying to reapply.

To this, the department says that applicants will only be placed in schools where there is space for their children.

The department has appealed for calm and patience while it does everything to allocate learners who still do not have schools.

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