Gauteng education finds places for 5,000 more pupils for grades 1 and 8

The Gauteng education department has reduced the number of unplaced pupils from 34,358 to 29,862 for grades 1 and 8 for next year.

"This demonstrate a steady increase of learners currently placed to 250,309, which represents 88.51% of total applications received. Of the number placed, 134,680 were placed in grade 1 and 115,629 in grade 8. The total number of applications received is 310,350," said the department in a statement.

"Our officials are committed and work tirelessly to place these remaining 29,862 - or 10.52% - of unplaced learners by November 30."

The department said a total of 27,563 parents had not submitted or did not have the required documents.

"We will announce on how they will be assisted in due course. We will currently not be able to accommodate those parents who didn’t apply, until we place all outstanding learners."

The department said it was administering the 2020 admission process under the new regulations and feeder zones policy, which stipulates that a parent can apply at any school. However, placement depends on the availability of space at the school.

The department said placements were done in the following order of priority:

• applicants with home addresses closest to the school within the feeder zone;
• applicants with siblings who are already placed (if the school has no space, siblings are placed at a school with available space within the feeder zone);
• applicants with a work address within the feeder zone;
• learners whose parents live within a 30km radius of school; and finally,
• learners whose parents live beyond a 30km radius of the school (if the school still has space).

Any parent who does not agree with the placement offer should lodge an objection with the district, the department added.

Parents who still have admission-related queries can contact the department on 0800 000 789, send an email to gdeinfo@gauteng.gov.za or visit the nearest district admission centre.

The placement period for admissions of children in grades 1 and 8 at state schools in the province was scheduled to close on October 31. A day before this deadline, there were still about 77,000 parents who had neither declined nor accepted placement offers for their children. The department extended the placement period to November 30.