Johannesburg - Queueing outside sought-after schools before the submission application process starts has become a lucrative business for Joburg job-seekers.
Anxious parents started queueing and paying people to queue for them by Friday last week in a bid to secure a place for their children at Parkview Junior School.
The application process for space in the province’s public schools started on April 7, when parents collected application forms from schools.
From April 15, schools will be accepting these application forms and the other required documents until May 27 for their 2015 intake.
Parents have employed job-seekers to sit in the queue for them and brave the rain and cool weather to ensure they are at the top of the waiting list when they submit their children’s applications.
Some have been taking shifts between themselves, domestic workers and gardeners to ensure they are the first to submit their application forms.
Bongani Ngcobo has been in the business of queueing for the past three years, and this has turned into a lucrative source of income for him.
He gets paid R250 a day and receives two meals from the parent he is queueing for.
To kill time, he plays cards or draughts with other people in the queue.
“I first heard about this from a friend of mine who told me there was a white person who needed someone to hold their position in the queue,” said Ngcobo.
Dumisani Zwane said a parent employed him to sit in the queue. He does not mind because it is just for a few days.
“When this is over, I go back to my normal life, walking around trying to find a job,” said Zwane.
He said he was very comfortable as he had received a blanket, a chair and tea for the night.
Gretchen Prangley said she, her mother-in-law and husband would be working in shifts to queue for admission.
“We would like our son to go to primary school here, and this is how you get into school here,” she said.
At Fourways High School, parents set up gazebos, tables and camping chairs outside the school’s premises.
First to arrive was Ian Flanagan, whose son will be starting high school next year.
Flanagan started trawling the area on Saturday to see if other parents had started arriving. He settled in on Sunday at 2am.
“We didn’t want to take a chance. Our son has to get in here, otherwise we’re going to be left with a huge problem,” said his wife Ursula.
The two have been taking turns to keep their space in the queue. Ursula is a stay-at-home mom and Ian took time off work to secure their place.
Their early arrival had a ripple effect, and parents who had planned to start queueing only last night started lining up in the morning.
Gauteng Department of Education spokeswoman Phumla Sekhonyane said: “The department is aware that some parents are eager to register their children at some schools and that there is always pressure in entry grades, that is grades 1 and 8.
“This is precisely why we start the registration process early.”
She said a number of security measures were taken.
“There is security and patrollers on site to make our schools safe. It is important to also emphasise that our schools are linked to the nearest police stations and sector policing for rapid response purposes.” - The Star