The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng said on Monday that the provincial department must prioritise all learners who applied to be placed in schools last year to ensure they start learning from day one.

This comes after Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi revealed that the department was still looking to place 45 000 children into grades one to eight.

The new academic year for Gauteng learners is set to begin this week as schools open on Wednesday.

Last year, the department introduced an online registration process for Grades one to eight in a bid to prevent long queues at school and make the application process more efficient.

In a statement, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education Khume Ramulifho said it was a great concern that there were still many learners who were yet to be placed, despite applying on time.

Ramulifho said an online registration process should be used to plan and manage placements with necessary resources.

“The MEC should provide more resources to schools with high demand. These include more classrooms, teachers and learner materials,” Ramulifho said.

“Parents are put in a difficult financial position when their children are not placed, as they cannot budget for uniforms, school fees and other materials needed.”

Earlier on Monday, Lesufi had said those parents who applied last year should not worry as schools would be found to accommodate their children.

However, parents who only applied for positions at schools this year would have to wait until the beginning of March to find a seat in a school for their children.