More than 9,000 pupils in the Johannesburg and Tshwane area were on Friday still waiting to be placed in school – nearly three weeks after schools opened in the province.
Provincial MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi said, when schools opened on 13 January, that all children would be placed in schools by the end of January. At the time 16,000 children were waiting for places in school from grade one to grade eight.
“The Department has received a total number of 251,889 new applications since April last year. So far, the department has placed 242,320 learners and 9,569 are still unplaced. This means 45 pupils would now occupy one class instead of 40 as initially planned, until a permanent solution is found,” said Oupa Bodibe, the Gauteng education department spokesperson.
Bodibe said Lesufi assured learners and parents on January 13 that the department would resolve the problem by the “end of the month”.
On Friday, Bodibe said: “In an effort to ensure that all unplaced learners are placed, schools have been asked to admit an additional five pupils in each classroom”.
Lesufi attributed the problem to rising numbers of learners in Gauteng.
Bodibe said: “More classes will also be created in primary schools on a temporary basis. In some areas the department is moving mobile classrooms where they are not needed to schools in pressure areas. Scholar transport will also be introduced to transport learners to under subscribed schools,”
The provincial education department said placement of learners will continue until all students are in class.
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