When will every child be placed?
While hundreds of children started their first day of school yesterday, many others were stuck in limbo, unable to find a place.
Applications for grades 1 and 8 opened in the middle of last year, with many parents finding out where their child has been accepted near the end of the year. But backlogs and issues have left around 3 000 Grade 1 and Grade 8 pupils without a school.
To date, 358 000 students in Grade 1 and Grade 8 have been placed in schools.
As dozens of frustrated parents lined up at department offices across the country this week, Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson Steve Mabona pointed to parents’ mistakes as a major factor in the delays.
What were some of the errors made?
He said some parents submitted their applications late and were unable to secure placements at their preferred schools, leading them to apply to any available schools.
Others made the mistake of applying to schools outside their residential districts, including some Johannesburg residents who mistakenly applied to Ekurhuleni schools.
“Because schools that are available were popping up, and you know that during this late application, there’s no opportunity for a waiting period for placement. Once you click a school, you’re automatically placed. So we then need to assist them and resolve that.”
Late applications opened last month and run until the end of this month.
Beyond timing and location errors, Mabona noted that some parents had not applied at all, arriving only recently and requiring urgent placement support.
He also highlighted financial misunderstandings, explaining that some parents initially applied to costly schools without being able to afford the fees and later sought to transfer their children.
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