MEC Chiloane must ensure that learners who applied on time are placed before the end of November

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is demanding that the Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, must ensure that all learners who applied on time are allocated schools before the end of November 2022. This will ensure that no learner misses a day of schooling because of the department’s incompetency and failure to place learners on time and within the stipulated deadlines.

Yesterday, MEC Matome Chiloane gave an update on the admission process and announced that the late applications for Grades 1 and 8 for the 2023 academic year will open on 20 December 2022 and closes on 20 January 2023.

We welcome the opening of late applications which will allow parents and guardians who missed the deadline to submit their children’s applications. However, we don’t believe that the late applications will be processed on time as this department has a reputation for failing learners and, many have been denied months of schooling due to late placements.

The DA proposes that only schools that have not yet reached their full capacity must be listed on the selection list to avoid raising hopes and creating pressure on schools that have reached their maximum capacity.

The MEC should be focusing on resolving placement issues for the learners who applied on time. Thousands of parents and guardians who applied on time are still waiting for SMSs to confirm the placement of their children.

Come the 2023 academic year, there should be no learner that is denied access to basic education because the department failed to allocate schools for them. The long wait and uncertainty frustrate parents who still need to buy stationery and uniforms and make transport arrangements for their children.

The DA will continue to monitor the process of learner placement to ensure that all parents and guardians who applied on time for their children receive confirmation placements before the end of this month. We will further monitor if the MEC keeps his promise to deliver mobile classrooms to high enrolment demand schools to avoid classroom overcrowding.