Durban - Teacher union, Naptosa, has expressed concern at the number of late registrations taking place across the city.
The union’s Chief Executive Officer, Thirona Moodley, said late registrations could continue until February resulting in a loss of learning time.
She added that this impacts greatly on the Department of Education’s ability, to cater for all learners in all schools.
“At the end of a short school holiday, most pupils and parents were ready to take on the school year. Schools were prepared to receive learners, timetables were ready for implementation and most textbooks and stationery was delivered. The major challenge for the day was late registrations. Parents failed to register learners timeously in 2018. This has resulted in parents hunting for space at the 11th hour,” she said.
Moodley said schools closed their registrations in November 2018 and all logistics were in place. This included pupils being allocated to classes, allocation of staff and learning materials.
Moodley said at a school in Mariannhill this morning, parents pushed through the gates to gain access to the already full school.
She said late registrations are not only a KZN phenomenon but appear to be a countrywide challenge.
“The Department of Education must make a concerted effort to reach all corners of the Province to campaign for early registrations for the 2020 school year. Definitely, more can be done to raise this awareness in the parent community. This campaign must use community newspapers and other forms of mainstream media to relay the message,” Moodley said.