Cape Town - While the number of late applications and unplaced pupils is yet to be verified, the ANC in the province has slammed the Western Cape Education Department for being “complicit” in a what they said was a crisis of unplaced pupils, due to “decades-long management failures”.
The WCED last week confirmed after the academic year got under way, that 680 pupils still required placement, and they expected an influx of late applications.
ANC MPL, Khalid Sayed, said the first few days of school were marked by “chaos as cavalcades of parents, predominantly from poor and working class communities, queued outside schools and district offices to find placement spaces for learners”.
“The leadership of the provincial government and the WCED are complicit in this crisis due to decades-long management failures, lack of foresight and poor planning, as well as ineffective oversight mechanisms over schools’ inconsistent application of admission policies.
“As per the norm and as previously warned by the ANC and various other education stakeholders in the province, the first few days of school for the 2023 academic year were marked by chaos.
“There is reason to believe that the manner in which the online application system is administered targets African, Coloured and Indian learners from entering certain schools in the province and thereby pushes them to the already overcrowded schools in poor working-class communities.
“This is proven by both the cases we witnessed when our public representatives visited schools, as well as the dozens of emails we received from parents who are looking for placement spaces for their children. This calls for an urgent investigation and the ANC will be taking this up in the Legislature’s Education Standing Committee,” said Sayed.
Education MEC David Maynier said the online system helped to ensure that applications were completed accurately, reduced the administrative burden for schools and officials, reduced travel and leave costs to parents who previously would have had to apply physically at each school.
It also helped weed out illegal practices in admissions.
“Our unprecedented school infrastructure delivery programme includes our innovative new rapid school-build initiative, of which Saxonsea Junior High School is an excellent example – it was constructed in just 65 days,” said Maynier.
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said while they had made “incredible gains” in placing more learners, due to our various reasons, including their infrastructure build programme, they were aware that all placements weren’t yet finalised. This was largely due to late application of learners.
“We are currently seeing very late applications, despite ongoing and very public appeals to parents to apply timeously last year. Many of these applications are in the senior or FET phase.
“Districts are reporting that the majority of walk-in late applications are from learners from the Eastern Cape.
Paper-based applications by parents are currently being processed and officials are verifying whether some of these learners have already been placed.
We also need the system to settle to determine where there are places available,” said Hammond.
She explained that pupils could be legally deregistered from a school after being absent for 10 school days in cases where no valid reason is given.
“Some learners who have confirmed placement at schools do not arrive and can be deregistered after the 10th school day allowing for the placement of learners that have applied late.
“While there may be empty seats for learners in some of our schools – seats that fit the profiles of some of our late applications – we cannot use these seats until the 10th day (when) survey results are accurately assessed and approved. In other words, we need the system to settle, before further placements can be made,” Hammond added.
Cape Times