The Gauteng IFP has learned with great concern that 54 000 learners in the Gauteng province have not yet been placed in schools for next year’s enrolment even with the deadline set for 31 October 2018.

Gauteng Education Department spokesperson, Steve Mabona revealed to the media that although thousands of these learners have applied online, many of them were yet to submit the necessary documents required for placement.

The IFP is seriously concerned that it took this long for the department to realise the gravity of the situation and finally begin to communicate with parents vigorously through the media even though being fully aware of this backlog at an earlier time.

The Gauteng Education Department, led by MEC Panyaza Lesufi has dealt with this matter with a clear lack of seriousness and urgency in ensuring that every learner in this province is given an equal opportunity to secure placement. For if the department was serious it would not have left this matter until the eleventh hour.

While we acknowledge that it is the responsibility of parents to ensure that leaners are registered, and the proper documents are submitted online. We also believe that it is equally the responsibility of the department to ensure that parents are actively engaged to make sure that learners are registered in time.

MEC Lesufi would do well to table a plan on how the department plans to place all these learners by the end of month when it could not do so in over 6 months as applications were open as early as April.

It shouldn’t take more than 3 months for learners to know their fate and start preparing accordingly, the Gauteng Department of Education must review its online application system and identify where challenges are with it to correct these before it becomes a crisis in January 2019.

 

Issued by IFP