Johannesburg – Poor planning is to blame for the more than 30 000 Gauteng Grade 1 and 8 pupils, who have not yet been placed at schools for 2018.
Speaking to News24, Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (Fedsas) CEO Paul Colditz said Gauteng experiences the same problem every year, but added that he was hopeful that all pupils would be placed.
News24 reported on Sunday that Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi said that more than 30 000 learners were not allocated to schools and were still looking for placements.
READ: 30 000+ Gauteng learners still not placed for school
"Gauteng always has this crisis because of not enough schools and poor planning…but it has been solved in the past," Colditz added.
He said an audit of schools, which was promised two years ago, has still not happened. This, he added, would be crucial to solving the school crisis.
"We need a proper audit of the capacity of schools, and the present enrolment at schools. Some schools are not fully occupied, most people are moving their children to suburban schools because they feel the level of education in township schools is not good enough," he said.
Last year, News24 reported that Lesufi would build 16 new schools with a budget of R39bn, to keep up with the demand for schools in suburban areas.
New township school
In a statement, Lesufi said a new township school, Everest Primary School, would be opened in Westbury in Johannesburg West on Wednesday.
The department promised that all pupils would be placed before schools open, saying that they had made lots of progress with those who had applied online for Grades 1 and 8. They said 17 000 of those who had applied on time, had not yet been placed.
"In addition, 22 921 late applications were received towards the end of the year. To date 8 865 learners from this group have been placed, leaving a balance of 14 056," read a statement.
Lesufi said many parents declined alternative offers of placement. He urged them to accept offers of placement from schools that had available spaces because many schools could not accept any more pupils.
Parents who are struggling to get their children admitted have been urged to visit admission centres on January 13 and 14. They will operate from 08:00 to 17:00.
Placed where there is space
Lesufi said they were expecting more parents to apply as soon as schools opened, adding that their children would be placed where there is space.
In November last year, Lesufi announced that pupils could still be placed in schools for Grades 1 and 8 if they applied on the online registration system.
At the time, 402 schools were already full.
There are just over 600 high schools in the province which are due to take in pupils from next Wednesday, when schools reopen.
Meanwhile, Lesufi's spokesperson, Steve Mabona told News24 that the department would be challenging the Hoërskool Overvaal in Vereeniging in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday.
This follows their alleged refusal to accept non-Afrikaans speaking pupils at the school despite having space.
According to Mabona, the school is arguing that the department cannot intervene and admit pupils into the school.
