Poor communication blamed for pending learner placement

POLOKWANE – The Pietersburg Education Circuit’s central venue for state school appeals and placements at Greenside Primary School was a hive of activity on Tuesday (January 10) as parents tried to secure placement – many of whom were devising fraudulent means (bribes) to do so.

Poor communication and administrative channels were central to their dismay, they told Polokwane Observer.

Schools opened for the 2023 academic year on Wednesday (January 11) and the department encouraged parents in a circular released last year to apply timeously to avoid inconveniences.

Scores of hopeful parents queued from 05:00 on Tuesday in the hope of their child being placed at a school convenient to them.

The day’s programme started at 10:00, with roughly 40 learners having been placed successfully by 12:30.

Education Department communication head Matome Moremi-Taueatsoala said despite the seemingly small number, hundreds of appeals had been attended to on the day.

“Some applications were rejected because of their addresses being outside of the feeder area, and many did not understand that communication that was issued was only directed at parents of learners in Gr R, Gr 1 and Gr 8,” he explained.

A parent who only received her child’s Gr 8 rejection letter from a local secondary school on Monday after having applied in August last year, told Polokwane Observer that she witnessed another parent filling in registration forms after the woman told her she had “negotiated a fee with departmental officials” to speed up her child’s placement.

As the day progressed, she witnessed having seen “more connected and financially able parents using ‘back doors’ to receive placements”.

Asked to comment, Moremi-Taueatsoala said their risk management directorate would investigate the allegation.

“If this is so, it is a serious matter that we condemn and for which there is no space in our community. Anyone found guilty of such acts will be dealt with accordingly.”

Parents who enquired at schools in Polokwane were put on a joint waiting list of schools and the department, and after a learner tally is done on the tenth school day, administrators will have a clearer picture of where space is still available.

In the meantime, the placement schedule will continue indefinitely, while the final placement list for learners whose applications are processed this week will be released Monday (January 16) afternoon, according to a statement released by the department.

To practise fairness, applications received between May and July last year will take second priority after those of Gr R, Gr 1 and Gr 8 have been completed, followed by those who applied for internal grades being done in the next two days, while those with other reasons such as late applications would be assisted as of Monday, Moremi-Taueatsoala confirmed.