Johannesburg - The start of the new academic year for Grade 1 to 8 learners in Gauteng province has been a bumpy ride, with many parents expressing their desperation ahead of the new academic season in 2023.
On Tuesday, the Gauteng Education Department said it had placed more than 290 000 Grade 1 to 8 pupils ahead of the start of the 2023 school year, which accounts for about 99.5% of all pupils.
Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane briefed members of the media on Tuesday in Kempton Park on the progress of admission and placement of learners for the start of the year’s first term for inland schools, which begins on Wednesday.
However, scores of parents had been queuing for two days at various Department of Education district offices in last-ditch efforts to get their children placed in schools. Many have complained that the online registration system is not effective as they are forced to relocate their children to schools too far from their homes.
This morning as schools reopen, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga will be monitoring schools in and around Diepsloot in Gauteng as inland schools begin the 2023 academic year.
Her visits will include a stop at Cosmo Primary School in Diepsloot. She will then proceed to Cosmo Secondary School, Diepsloot Primary School, and then move to Sunrise Secondary School.
Meanwhile, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Chiloane will be visiting Mapenane Secondary School in Ga-Rankuwa, north of Pretoria, while Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko will be visiting schools in and around the East Rand.
It is a jam-packed day for other members of the Executive Council who will take part in various oversight visits at several schools across the province.
Chiloane promised parents that all learners who were still having difficulties getting placed would eventually be placed, as the department has since procured 419 mobile classrooms and is building 219 brick classrooms to address the pressure of unplaced applications across the province.
He said the department was also expected to provide catch-up programmes for learners.
“We are aware that some parents have not yet had their children placed in schools, but we want to ensure that their children will be in school. We are working around the clock to ensure that those children are placed,” he said.
The Star