If logistical planning and pupil placement was a subject at school, the country’s education departments would have got a big fat fail, scoring less than 30%.
Their failures marred the return of inland pupils last week and their coastal counterparts this week as hundreds of grades 1 and 8 pupils are still in the dark about which school they are attending.
The bigger issue here is this crisis could be a scene from last year, the year before and years before that.
It begs the question: why haven’t the education departments learnt from their failures, which mainly seem to affect parents and schoolchildren? Why are they still repeating these mistakes years down the line? Why is the national department not wielding a big stick on provincial departments for such shoddy service delivery?
Gauteng mitigated its failure on Friday by stating there were only 571 pupils to place and the department was working through the weekend to resolve the matter by the beginning of this week.
A large number of these children will be placed at schools which won’t necessarily be their first choice. It won’t be a simple walk or car ride away to get to school. Some will have to travel across town, which will force parents to take leave from their jobs to fetch children or fork out unexpected taxi fares to ensure they get to school safely and on time.
There is no thought seemingly spared for the child’s wellbeing. Without being cynical, we are all too familiar with the reality that many pupils travel unaccompanied to school, which makes them vulnerable to all sorts of abuse.
Anxious matric pupils and their parents — who carry the cost emotionally and otherwise — are living in a prolonged state of suspense thanks to the folly of our education department.
This is just one of the little things the department misses in its one-size-fits-all government response: “We are aware of the issue, our technicians are working on it and we apologise for the inconvenience.”
The frustrations that ran high last week as parents revolted against incompetence will play out again this week. The Western Cape says 680 pupils have yet to be placed, but this figure could increase due to late admissions. In KZN, education officials say a clear picture of unplaced pupils is yet to emerge.
The issue of matric results — which for the first time in a number of years are being released after school has already reopened — is equally a concern.
Most of us have experienced the angst of awaiting matric results that hold the power to change the course of one’s life. For it to be delayed because of “interruptions to grade 12 timetables due to Covid-19” is insensitive and unacceptable.
Anxious matric pupils and their parents — who carry the cost emotionally and otherwise — are living in a prolonged state of suspense thanks to the folly of our education department.
The results being released this late will have a direct impact, especially on those who have failed or those hoping to get into tertiary institutions. Again there are all sorts of logistical arrangements, including housing and transport, to make.
But the department’s response — that the matric results were also released the same day last year — screams insensitivity and should not be tolerated.
In 2023 we shouldn’t be placing unnecessary and additional mental and financial strain on parents and pupils.
Education is at the heart of many things that go wrong in our country, and a large part of the problem lies with its leadership.
Instead of preventing access to the building blocks which unlock our country’s economic, social and political trajectory, we should be building bridges and raising platforms to growth and self-empowerment.
For our education system to work, it needs to be efficient, predictable, reliable and consistent.
History and recent events show that goal is out of Angie Motshekga’s reach.
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