Lesufi worried about 53,000 pupils who have not returned to school

As the Gauteng education department prepares for the 2021 academic year, it has noted that 53,000 pupils have not returned since the reopening of schools after being closed due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said this on Sunday as he announced that the department has placed 181,119 prospective grade 1 and grade 8 pupils in its schools for the 2021 academic year.

Lesufi said officials will determine why the pupils did not return to school.

He put the blame squarely on those people who said the 2020 academic year must be scrapped.

“We believe the 53,000 (pupils) listened to those people. These are the people that must be held responsible for the 53,000 learners that did not come back.

“Let us go and trace them, track them and speak to them and persuade them to come back at the beginning of 2021. There is no 'pass one, pass all'. They have to repeat the grade,” Lesufi said.

Lesufi said that of the 222,275 online applications it received during October, only 41,000 have not been placed.

“We need to provide answers to the 18% of parents (who) were not successful.”

He said the three main reasons were because of the schools they had chosen, which had reached capacity and because they were far from their home or place of work.

Lesufi said from December 7, it will send a list of schools that have places to the 41,000 parents who were not successful.

“We will urge parents to accept those available spaces. We want all parents that have applied on time to have places before we can open for late registrations.”

He said 280 schools in the province are full, 144 of which are primary schools and 136 high schools.

He said the areas which have reached full capacity are in Benoni, Alberton, Johannesburg South, Lenasia, Roodepoort, Bryanston, Midrand and Centurion.

“We are aware of the need to build schools and we have identified areas where we need to build schools.”

Lesufi said an online admission system will be open from December 22 to January 22 next year to parents who have not applied at all.

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