It's the second week since the school re-opened in the inland areas yet there are some grade one and eight learners who are still not placed. The Department of Education promised that placements would be complete the week before schools opened but that hasn't happened. However, as of last week Friday, January 13, a total of 571 Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners whose parents and guardians submitted complete applications on the Online Admissions System were still not placed.

LEARNER FRUSTRATION 

A parent from Simunye in the WestRand  said she feared her daughter who is supposed to be in Grade 8 will sink into depression because she's forever crying and it's clearly because her peers are in school. "When I still had hope I spoke to another parent who was furious and said her child would be forced to take a gap year because she wasn't placed and I thought she was overreacting but now I know exactly how she felt." She said at this point she was not sure if her child will get a school and how she should console her. "I can only hope that by the end of January we will have good news and at least she won't have much work to catch up on. "

APPEALS CAUSING BACKLOGS

The department said they were still resolving thousands of appeals by parents who were contesting the placement of their children. This comes after some kids were placed far from their homes and at schools parents did not apply to.  Department Spokesman Steve Mabona said appeals will be considered after all first  time applicants have been placed. "We just concluded late applications for learners and we are doing all we can to place them even in schools that are already full. This is because we don't want any learners to be at home and missing out on school." Mabona said.

LEARNERS TO CATCH UP

The department said they will commission principals at schools to develop catch-up programmes to accommodate learners who were unplaced during the start of the 2023 academic year. Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane apologised for any inconvenience. "Our team is working around the clock to ensure that all learners are placed. We appeal with all parents and guardians to allow these processes to take place as they will result in the successful placement of their children. We profusely apologise for the inconvenience caused and we extend our best wishes to all learners and teachers for the 2023 academic year," said Chiloane.

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