Parents looking for placement of ‘inner grades’ advised to visit GDE from Jan 24
This as districts will be in a better position to give parents the necessary assistance they need for placement as available spaces at schools would be determined at that stage, according to GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona.
Parents who seek to apply for grades other than grades 1 and 8 are strongly encouraged to visit their nearest Gauteng education department (GDE) district offices from January 24.
This is as districts will be in a better position to give parents the necessary assistance they need for placement as available spaces at schools would be determined at that stage, according to GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona.
Mabona said the department had further commissioned principals at schools to develop catch-up programmes to accommodate learners who were unplaced during the start of the 2023 academic year.
The GDE was hard at work to expand schools, refurbish infrastructure and employ more staff at schools to deal with less than 223 unplaced learners in Pretoria.
The GDE on Friday further updated parents and guardians that 97 grade 1 learners and 474 grade 8 learners were still to be placed in the province.
Education MEC Matome Chiloane said less than 223 grade 8 applicants were unplaced from areas around Akasia and Theresa Park.
“To alleviate capacity pressure, the GDE is building satellite schools in high-pressure areas. These are schools which are an extension of certain high-pressure schools, but are built on a different site or geographical area not far from the main school.”
In Tshwane two satellite schools were under construction, namely; Theresapark Primary School No. 2 and Theresapark Secondary School.
He said overall 139 367 grade 1 and 152 207 grade 8 learners were placed in schools.
Chiloane assured parents that their unplaced children would be in school this year.
“We must ensure we fulfil their placement. Your children will be in school and we are working around the clock.”
The department has also allocated funds to 108 high-pressure schools for 408 self-built classrooms in January 2022.
“Subsequently at the end of 2022, funds were transferred to 297 schools to build an additional 878 classrooms.”
He said three new secondary schools in Ga-Rankuwa, Mamelodi East and Soshanguve as part of 297 schools were being built to address pressures and overcrowding.
Chiloane said the department had also prioritised infrastructure interventions in 2022/23 to do emergency repairs and renovations due to burglaries, vandalism and arson attacks in about 120 schools.
“Twenty-four schools were affected by vandalism/theft during the December holiday period.”
The MEC said some repairs to vandalised schools had also been ongoing since October 2022.
He said due to theft of stationery experienced by schools during the December school holidays, three schools had received deliveries in January 2023, two days before schools re-opened.
Chiloane said for the majority of the schools, deliveries were finalised by November 30, 2022.
He reported that 488 schools were receiving day-to-day infrastructure maintenance.
“Sixty-seven emergency provisions of water were supplied to schools through filled water tanks and 20 emergency sanitation units were provided to schools to alleviate the shortage.”
He told the media that vacancies in the department were scheduled to be filled right through the academic year.
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