Cape Town - Western Cape schools are filling up fast for the 2016 academic year with more than 128 000 applications already processed and about 10 000 of these children yet to be placed.
Education MEC Debbie Schäfer made an urgent call to parents who have not yet applied to approach their nearest school or district office as soon as possible.
The deadline for applications was June 30.
“We appeal to all parents to honour enrolment deadlines for their children. Failure to enrol children on time places a massive burden on our education officials at the start of the school year and disrupts teaching and learning time.”
Last year the department introduced the school admission management information system, which makes it easier for schools to capture applications and share the information with other schools and officials.
Schäfer said this system was being used to direct pupils to schools that could accommodate them.
Officials were using the system to generate lists of pupils that had been accepted at more than one school. Their parents would be notified that they needed to choose which school they would be sending their child to.
“There are currently 3 470 pupils who have been accepted at more than one school. A total of 2 257 of these pupils are in Grade 8 who have not confirmed if they are taking up their places.”
Places in parents’ schools of choice could not be guaranteed but the department would “do our utmost” to place children appropriately.
Schäfer said more children were expected to migrate to the Western Cape from other provinces “in search of a better education and access to opportunities”.
“Each year we plan as best we can for the influx of additional learners from other provinces.
“The inward migration into the Western Cape has huge financial and planning implications, impacting on the provisioning of education resources and the overall management of the system.”
She said the budget was under considerable pressure.
Last month, the Cape Argus reported that the budget shortfall for the 2016/17 year was about R450 million and that the number of teaching posts would only increase by six next year.
Schäfer said five new schools – Eerste River, Happy Valley, Masakhane – in Gansbaai – and Kranshoek and Kwanokhuthula primary schools in the southern Cape – would be opened next year. Nine replacement schools would also be ready next year.
Cape Argus