Pupil happy to go to school for the first time this year

LESHE Meyers is ready to catch up on the weeks of schooling she lost out while she was languishing at home with no hope of going to school this year. Yesterday, dressed in a white shirt, a tie and grey pants, Leshe attended school for the first time this year at Florida Park High School, west of Johannesburg. She arrived outside the school gate at 7.30am ready to begin her Grade 11. On Monday, Sowetan reported about the plight of Leshe, 16, whose life was turned upside down when she could not find a school around the Florida area where she had recently relocated. She had moved to the area from Eldorado Park following a tragedy. Leshe passed her Grade 10 at Kliptown High School but was told by the education department’s district office that there was no space for grades 10, 11 and 12 at schools around the area. This was after Florida Park, which had put her on a waiting list two days before schools opened in January, told her a week later that it was full. Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi had promised to intervene when Sowetan contacted him about Leshe’s plight. His head of department, Edward Mosuwe, also promised that they would intervene. And yesterday, an elated Leshe said: “I’m satisfied that I’m in a school, I’m happy. I did not think I will come to this stage but I’m finally here and it’s an accomplishment. I’m looking forward to learning, having fun, but not too much fun, I need to study hard.” Leshe’s grandmother Jennifer said she could now sleep well knowing that her granddaughter was enrolled. “I’m excited, happy and give grace to God that she is at school,” she said. Meanwhile, the department yesterday said it has reduced the number of pupils who had applied through the online application system for grades 1 and 8 but there were still 377 who were not placed in schools. The number was over 50 000 last month when schools opened, and the department said it hoped to place all the pupils in schools by today. The department also said of the 19 536 new applications it received last month, it had so far placed 15 657 pupils in schools.