Gayton McKenzie on limited school placings in Gauteng: 'Give preference to SA kids'

06 October 2022 - 12:00
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Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie. File photo.
Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie. File photo.
Image: Eugene Coetzee/The Herald

Patriotic Alliance leader and Central Karoo district mayor Gayton McKenzie has suggested the government give preference to SA pupils to deal with the high number of school applications in Gauteng for next year.

The Gauteng education department’s 2023 grade 1 and 8 online admissions system has recorded the highest number of submitted applications since its inception in 2016.

The department has received 764,062 applications for grades one and eight since the opening of the online application process.

About 275 primary schools were regarded as high-pressure schools along with about 221 secondary schools, particularly in Pretoria.

McKenzie suggested the problem could be easily solved if the government prioritised South Africans. 

“Give absolute enrolment preference to all SA kids at schools in SA, problem solved,” he said. 

“Why do we beat around the bush? Foreigners have options, our people don’t. What kind of country can’t give its own citizens [an] education because of overcrowding, be real.”

Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said parents who applied to schools will be alerted by the department via SMS about the placement of their children.

The issuing of SMSs is expected to continue until November 30, when the placement period ends.

“We are releasing happy SMSs. A happy SMS means as a parent you are going to get an SMS that says among the 764,000 people that have applied for spaces in our schools you were fortunate, your child has been placed,” said Lesufi.

In the event of an SMS indicating a child had been placed at a certain school, this would be regarded as a successful placement at that school. There would be no need for a parent or guardian to access the online system to accept an offer because the child would be placed at that school.

Panyaza said placement offers will not be based on a “first come, first served” basis but on the home address within the school’s feeder zone, work address within the school’s feeder zone, a home address within a 30km radius and home address beyond a 30km radius.

“Applicants who are offered placement at schools that they have not applied to have the option to accept or decline the placement offer. To submit an objection, the parent declines the placement offer, and completes an electronic objection form online. Objections must be submitted within 7 days of receiving the placement offer.”

He said when placement is offered at one of the schools the parent applied to, objections and appeals will not be applicable.

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