Grade 1 parents frustrated as their children put on waiting list in schools around town

Some parents of learners set to begin Grade 1 next year are frustrated after primary schools of their choice around Ermelo said they are full and that learners will be put on waiting lists.

According to one parent, who did not want to be named, his child who is in Grade R, has been on a waiting list for the Grade 1 class even though he had applied in the designated registration window period during the months of May to July.

“I heard that registrations for Grade 1 were opened and rushed to get applications at two schools around town,” the parent said.

The parent also said he had heard about the registration window through word of mouth.

The parent added that he had received no feedback from the two schools he had applied to, but received an SMS from the one school telling him his child is on the waiting list.

“The schools close on Wednesday, 12 December and I do not know where my child is going to go next year.”

Another parent, in a similar situation, suggested that the process be reconsidered.

“I stay in town, close to the schools, but my child is on a waiting list, how come?”

She said the system must be changed and Gauteng’s be adopted where the application process is centralised.

Gauteng’s online school application system goes live on the internet in April and requires all parents seeking schools for Grade 1 and 8 to engage on a particular online platform.

A system she thinks is working as parents and teachers find it easier to apply for schools in the province.

However, it is not the case for another parent, Ms Natalie Fourie, whose child is currently in Grade 1.

“I applied the normal way, in the registration window, was invited to the open day and my little girl got accepted in her school,” Ms Fourie said.

When asked if her child was in grade R in the same school, Ms Fourie said no and that it was a stand-alone preschool, meaning it is just a school catering only to preschool learners.

Which begs the question, what are the criteria used when schools accept applications of learners at their schools.

When the Highvelder enquired at the Mpumalanga Department of Education (DoE) as to why some learners are on waiting lists even though they live in the vicinity of the town, the department said it is aware of the challenge relating to the admission of some learners in Ermelo.

“To address this, a team has been established to work with principals of the schools in the town, to fast-track the process of admitting learners,” Mr Jasper Zwane, DoE spokesman, said

The department appealed to parents to cooperate with the team and principals.

However, bad news for some parents is that there will be instances where they will be required to register their children in a school which was not their first choice.

“This will be done once the DoE has ascertained that the school, which was a first choice for a parent, is full.”

Mr Zwane did however note that the process of placing learners must be accelerated before schools close.

In the meantime, parents who are on waiting lists are asked to be patient as the team does its work.

A big ask as parents, who spoke to the newspaper, want to begin planning for their children’s schooling before prices go up in back-to-school sales in January.