No guarantee can be given to parents of Gr. R learners as to whether they will find placement at preferred schools in the Frances Baard District.
This was according to the Department of Education in the Northern Cape, which admits to experiencing a challenge with regard to the placement of Gr. R learners, especially in the Frances Baard District.
Parents are thus encouraged to start looking for placement at Early Childhood Development (ECD) community-based sites, as no guarantee of placement in public schools can be given.
“It is an unfortunate situation we find ourselves in. We have therefore prioritised the construction of 56 classrooms and 36 ECD classrooms in the first quarter of 2018,” says Geoffrey van der Merwe, media liaison officer to the MEC of the Department of Education in the Northern Cape.
The department promises to provide updates on the status of learner admissions before the 2018 school year commences.
“We further urge parents to cooperate and work with us to place learners in schools where space is available.”
Finalisation of learner placements, including those who have submitted appeals to the Office of the MEC, is reportedly in progress, as the department is experiencing a high enrolment volume in Gr. R, Gr. 1 and Gr. 8.
“We have completed the promotion and progression of learners and determined how it will affect the learner admissions at identified ‘hotspot’ schools,” says Van der Merwe.
The department’s Circular No 5 of 2017 in conjunction with Circular No 58 of 2016 guides schools in the administration of learner admissions in public ordinary schools.
The Frances Baard and John Taolo Gaetsewe (JTG) District are reported to be experiencing the highest learner enrolment numbers, with a total of 20 646.
“Included in this figure is a total of 2 572 late learner admissions that were received after the closing date, which is in itself a significant number of learners seeking placement.”
Two central venues, the district offices in Frances Baard (Hadison Park offices) and the JTG District offices (Mothibistad, Baitiredi offices) in Kimberley and Kuruman will specifically deal with late applications. Late applications will be managed from Monday, 15 January, from 08:00 to 16:00. All other schools outside Kimberley and Kuruman will manage their own late admissions starting on 17 January from 14:00 to 16:00 daily (Monday to Friday), to avoid using valuable learning and teaching time.
