Despite most schools being at capacity, the Western Cape Department of Education (WCED) says it has made great progress in addressing issue of learner placements in local schools.
The department recently revealed that it had successfully placed approximately 99% of learners for the 2023 school year.
With only a total of 680 Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners yet to be placed in schools for the new academic year, the department says that more than 111 000 Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners have been placed at school for the upcoming academic year.
Millicent Merton, media liaison officer for the Western Cape Education Department says the department placed 50 160 more Grade 1 learners and Grade 8 learners than this time last year.
“Our officials and schools have done a phenomenal job under extreme pressure to make sure that they find a place for every child, and we will continue to work to finalise placements for all remaining learners,” said Merton
Merton says that one of the most common reasons for why learners have not been placed yet is that certain schools receive high volumes of applications and these schools can only accommodate a fixed number of learners so they are then forced to reject a lot of applications.
“We also ask our parents to indicate when they apply for places for the following year...we ask them to apply to at least three schools and also list them in order of preference.”
Additionally, the department also noted that in some instances parents neglected to provide accurate contact information, and as a result the department has difficulties contacting parents when there is a place available for their child.
The department has assured parents that it will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the remaining learners are placed in time for the start of the first term.
Term 1 of the new school year is set to commence on Wednesday, 18 January 2023.
