School placement woes reduce mothers to tears

Johannesburg mother Lerato Motloung has been forced to send her child to a private school after battling for two years to get her daughter placed in a government school‚ a sacrifice she can no longer afford.

Motloung broke down in tears as she told her story‚ seated in a queue of parents outside the Gauteng education department's head office in Central Johannesburg on Tuesday.

• Gauteng Department of Education says it has reduced pupil backlogThe Gauteng Department of Education says it has reduced its backlog of unplaced pupils by 18 000 in the past two days. 

Her daughter Chisom‚ in grade 3 this year‚ has not been accepted at Randpark Ridge Primary for three years in a row‚ due to limited space at the school‚ though she lives within walking distance from it.

The other schools the Gauteng education department recommended for the child are a lot further from home.

Motloung said she would be happy to send the girl to one of those schools but claims the schools told her not to bother applying because she does not live within their feeder zones.

"I have not been placed for three years. It's not fair to be treated like this in my own country. I don't know what to do."

Motloung is one of many parents queuing outside the department's head office‚ frustrated by its admissions process.

On Monday 58 000 pupils had not yet been placed at schools‚ ahead of the start of the academic year on Wednesday.

By Tuesday afternoon that number had been whittled down to 40 000.

When Motloung's daughter was first unplaced in 2015‚ she sent her to a private school at a cost of R2400 per month. The following year‚ when her child was again not placed the fees rose to R2700 per month.

With fees at the Inn-Tuition Academy in Randpark Ridge expected to increase to R3000 this year‚ Motloung says she cannot afford to send Chisom there any longer. "I cannot afford to go there anymore. Where am I going to get that money from? Tomorrow my child is not going to school."

Motloung said she has been visiting the department monthly to sort out the mess but claims she was treated poorly by officials.

At the Sandton district office two parents stormed into the building on Tuesday‚ shouting and screaming that they are not being respected by the department.

"We want answers. Yesterday we came here. Then we were told to go to [a school in] Sundowner and we found no one there. We waited [there] for six hours‚" a mother yelled.

Manuela Salema claims she too was sent from pillar to post by department officials this week. Her child‚ going to grade 4‚ has not been accepted at any of the schools she applied to‚ though she did so back in April last year.

The mother from Troyeville was due to begin a new job this month but turned the offer down to focus on finding a school for her child.

Bridget Motaung‚ from Alexandra‚ is also battling to find her child a school.

The special needs pupil used to attend Forrest Town school and would have entered level six but was hospitalised for two years with heart problems.

"When I went back to the school to register again‚ they [told] me to go to the Sandton District for a late application.

"When I get here I'm told to go home and wait for a call tomorrow from the school. I don't have an alternative‚ if this school does not accept my child he will have to stay home for the rest of the year." The department hopes to have cleared the backlog of unplaced pupils by the end of February.

- TMG Digital