More than 12 000 pupils still left unplaced in Western Cape
WHILE the Western Cape Education Department's (WCED) goal to build seven schools in six months has been cautiously welcomed, concerns have been expressed over capabilities to accommodate more than 12 000 unplaced pupils in January.
Annually, many pupils in the province scramble for placement before the academic year begins, while in other cases frustrated communities protest over overcrowded classrooms.
About 12 786 children are waiting to know at which schools they will be attending Grades 1 and 8 next year.
According to education MEC David Maynier, the department received 117 270 applications for Grades 1 and 8 for the 2023 school year.
Of these, 100 302 children have already been placed in schools.
“We received applications for 117 270 learners for Grades 1 and 8 of which 22 113 were received late.
“As of November 3, we have placed 100 302 of the Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners for the 2023 school year, and are in the process of placing 12 786.
“This does not take into account the extremely late applications that we expect to receive from the end of this year onwards,” said Maynier.
He added they were embarking on a project to build 842 additional classrooms with at least 26 000 places for pupils in the province.
“We are aiming to build many more schools and classrooms than previously, with double the number of new places compared to the number of learners we are still finalising placement for,” he added.
Frustrated parents attended a WCED briefing on Tuesday where the standing committee on education was provided with an update on the status of placements.
Some, including committee member Christopher Fry, spoke about applying to various schools and their children being rejected.
ANC education spokesperson Khalid Sayed said they were “gravely” concerned at the high number of pupils that were yet to be placed in schools.
“If the department is yet to place thousands learners in November, while there are still thousands of late applications still to be received in December and January, it clearly indicates that our education system is about to reach a crisis of epic proportions.
“The ANC is clear on its demands that No Child Must be Left Behind in January 2023,” said Sayed.
Sayed added that earlier this year they pushed for a Standing Committee on Education meeting to look at admission numbers and put measures in place to avert chaos in January.
He said they had been inundated by desperate parents who visit their constituencies and request any sort of assistance to ensure placement of their children.
Sayed said the plan to build the 842 additional classrooms was welcomed and they will monitor the delivery against the targets.