Johannesburg - Gauteng MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi told residents in the province on numerous occasions that his first priority was to ensure that deserving pupils, especially those in Grade 1, have a class and a teacher.
These sentiments were bolstered by MEC for Finance Barbara Creecy when she gave additional funds to the education department to hire teachers.
All those efforts created hope but not for Sumaya Haffejee, whose six-year-old son has yet to be placed in a school. The child has been waiting since the beginning of this term, which ends on Friday when schools close for the Easter holidays.
On Saturday, Haffejee said it was now her duty to convince her child that he would be registered in a school soon. She told him not to worry as “my boy, you will start school on Monday”.
She said she had tried everything to get her son placed at a school, but all her efforts had proved futile.
“I am so frustrated at the moment. The department is failing my son. He needs a solid foundation and is currently missing out. I am left defeated by all this,” she said.
Last month, The Sunday Independent reported Haffejee’s story when both her sons, one in Grade 1 and another in Grade 8, failed to secure placement in local schools.
After what she described as a very stressful fight, her eldest son only got placed recently, a few weeks before exams. This made catching up with schoolwork very difficult for the child. Now her youngest is still stuck at home.
“I am a single mother and therefore need to work really hard to keep my family afloat. Now on top of my long working hours, I also have to keep teaching my son somehow so he doesn’t fall backwards.
“It’s upsetting. I feel like a failure because of the system that has failed to allocate kids to schools.”
Haffejee has shown The Sunday Independent documents that attest to her efforts. “I’ve called numerous times. I personally went to the district and have documented dates of all my visits. All I ever get is that there is no place for my child and they will get back to me. I am tired,” she said.
She adds that all she wanted was to give her children the best education. “We are a country of desperate citizens who fight tooth and nail for their children to have a good future but the system is and will always fail us. For years the old system, that allowed kids to go to a nearby school, had worked. Why change a functional system?” she asked.
Education department spokesman Oupa Bodibe said the department was not aware of Haffejee’s plight. The department issued a statement which, among other things, said it was pleased to announce that the number of unplaced pupils had been reduced to zero.
Bodibe says: “We request the parent to visit the nearest district or the head office for assistance. The district will then place the learner where there is available space.
“We have a constitutional responsibility as the department to ensure that all children of school-going age are in school. We therefore urge all parents who face similar challenges to visit the nearest district for further assistance."