A briefing to parliament by the education department raised some red flags on Tuesday, including more than 120,000 grade 1 and 8 Gauteng pupils not being placed in schools and more than 20 institutions in the province not ordering stationery for fear of burglaries during the holidays.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga there isn’t enough money to buy top-up textbooks.
Gauteng’s confirmation of the number of unplaced pupils comes on the back of a presentation to parliament on Tuesday by the basic education department on preparedness for the 2022 academic year.
For 2022, 121,778 pupils in grades 1 and 8 in the province have not yet been placed.
According to figures furnished by the department, the number of unplaced pupils in other provinces included:
- Northern Cape: 86,553;
- Western Cape: 19,783;
- Free State: 17,712;
- North West: 9,529; and
- Mpumalanga: 6,458.
Simone Geyer, deputy director-general for delivery and support in the department, said late applications for admission continue to be a problem despite huge advocacy on application cut-off dates by provinces.
“Parents also ignore the published closing dates and parents from rural communities who move to big cities at the beginning of the year lodge applications.”
She said informal settlements that spring up around established communities because of the influx of people from rural to urban areas also present a challenge “because it is difficult to predict expected numbers ahead of the new year”.
“English-medium schools which are perceived as producing better quality also face an annual challenge of managing and accommodating all the applications they receive.”
Another challenge was the shortage of schools in urban areas and “the ever-present demand for spaces at schools of choice”.
Parents also ignore the published closing dates and parents from rural communities who move to big cities at the beginning of the year lodge applications.
— Simone Geyer, department of education
But the department’s director-general, Mathanzima Mweli, said they were no longer worried about admissions as the process was being handled well by the provinces.
“We used to be worried about admissions in Gauteng and Western Cape in particular, but over the past two to three years we are no longer worried.”
He said there will be instances where parents will have applied to more than one school and are just waiting for a response from an institution of their choice.
“The minister [Angie Motshekga] will recall Gauteng used to have the largest number [of applications] for obvious reasons. It’s the commercial capital of the country and the education system is perceived to be among the best in the country. But we are likely not to experience any problems.”
Mweli said contrary to reports of large numbers of pupils being lost because of Covid-19, the pupil enrolment figure for this year increased by more than 300,000, “the highest ever in the history of education”.
“Our enrolment figures increased from 13.1-million to 13.4-million this year. I asked officials from EMIS (Education Management Information Systems) more than three times to confirm the figure and it was confirmed.”
According to the department’s presentation, the Eastern Cape did not place orders for top-up textbooks because it did not have a budget for them.
The Mpumalanga education department faces a similar problem and is “sourcing for funds” for top-up textbooks.
In Gauteng, 16 schools did not procure textbooks because of a conflict between governing bodies and the committees responsible for pupil-teacher support materials.
A further 22 schools in Gauteng did not buy stationery for next year because of the fear of burglaries during the coming holidays.
The matter has been referred to the district directors for “intervention”.
A further 22 schools in Gauteng did not buy stationery for next year because of the fear of burglaries during the coming holidays.
In North West, the delivery of textbooks was at 26% on November 22.
Geyer said officials will conduct school-readiness monitoring visits in all nine provinces between January 12 and 28 to provide support to schools and identify any challenges they have.
Some of the issues officials will look at include provision of teachers’ and pupil-teacher support materials, as well as learner transport, school safety and curriculum management.
Rufus Poliah, chief director for national assessment and public exams, said the next three years will be used to address learning losses.
“We are hoping in three years to bring the system in terms of curriculum coverage to a point where we can then take the system to the next level.”
He said the curriculum has been trimmed so “we focus on the core and fundamentals” of the syllabus.
Meanwhile, Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona said the deadline for placement for grade 1 and 8 pupils, which was Tuesday, has been extended to December 10.
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