Cape Town - It has been more than a month since hundreds of thousands of pupils returned to school in the Western Cape, but not so for 13-year-old Isipho Dlongodlongo, who is still yet to be placed at a school despite applying for a spot at Piketberg High School in March last year.
Isipho should have started school with other Grade 8 pupils more than four weeks ago, but instead, she is languishing at home, alone, and the situation is said to be taking a toll on her mental health while her parents, who are public servants, await a solution for the young girl’s education prospects.
Isipho’s parents, Natasha and Bongani Dlongodlongo, had applied for enrolment to the English-medium Piketberg High School through the Western Cape Education Department’s (WCED) online application portal in March last year.
They only learnt in November that the school was “over subscribed” - meaning it was full, yet no alternatives were offered. The next nearest English-medium school is understood to be more than 60kms away from the Voorberg Prison, where the 13-year-old lives with her parents and two siblings.
The Dlongodlongo’s are a Xhosa-speaking household where parents Natasha and Bongani both reside with their three children and work at Voorberg Prison in Porterville on the Western Cape’s West Coast, as a nurse and a prison official in the security services, respectively.
Piketberg High is the only English-speaking high school in their immediate area. The school is about 30km away, while the next English-speaking high school is understood to be 60km away.
For the Dlongodlongo family, the high school is the only viable option for them as the prison also provides transport within the prescribed radius.
The family has no other option but for Isipho to attend Piketberg High and has been actively fighting for her to receive the education she deserves, at a school close to home.
“When the two other children in Grade 4 and 7 are preparing for school, she’s always awake and crying, asking me ‘Ma when am I going to school’?” the 35-year-old mother told IOL on Wednesday.
Natasha said the past few months had been stressful and she had sent many calls, emails and visited the district office and the school in a bid to get her daughter placed.
“I stay in a prison environment, so when I go to work I must leave my child alone unattended as a girl?
“Anything can happen,” Natasha exclaimed.
She said the school called police on her and the father when they went to enquire about Isipho’s placement earlier this year. The staff had felt threatened, she said.
“We said we’re going to wait for the police, we don’t have a problem. They came and said we must leave the school. But we said we are not fighting with anyone, we are here to ask questions - what must we do now?” she recalled.
It has been 35 days since public schools reopened in the coast, but not for Isipho, and the despair could yet be longer as the department admits there is no resolution on the matter, to date.
IOL approached the WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond about Isipho’s situation.
“There have been a number of engagements with the school to place the learner, but without success, as the school has notified the WCED that it is full,” Hammond said.
The WCED said the school was the most viable for the pupil, though the issue remained unresolved as of Wednesday night.
“I was in contact with the district office on Monday and received the placement letter for the SG’s signature. We will resolve this soonest,” WCED administrative clerk Meagan Wolmarans informed IOL on Tuesday.
Piketberg High’s school governing body (SGB) is expected to sign off on allowing Isipho to attend the school under special circumstances, though this remains unconfirmed as of Wednesday night.
However on Tuesday, Hammond said it’s not a simple case of a signature and that the parents had to approach the provincial head of department.
“It is not a case of a simple signature. The law needs to be followed and any decision to reconsider or overturn a decision made by the school governing body must be exercised reasonably and in a procedurally fair manner.
“The Office of the HOD has to consider the request before placing a signature on a document. The HOD’s office has considered the letter but has indicated that they will advise the parent of their right to appeal to the provincial minister,” Hammond said.
“In some cases, especially in rural areas, where options are limited, it makes it difficult to place learners. In this instance, the viable option is Piketberg HS, but the school has not accepted the learner. The WCED therefore needs to find alternative placement or consider its options legally,” she adds.
And when asked whether if the response to Isipho’s situation was adequate given the classroom time lost for the young pupil, Hammond said the district office had made several attempts to appeal to the Piketberg High School SGB, without success, yet.
“I have nothing further to add other than that we are aware of the matter and it is receiving attention – the parent is advised to appeal to the minister,” said Hammond.
The Dlongodlongo’s told IOL they had appealed to Western Cape Education Minister Debbie Schäfer on Monday and they were still awaiting a positive outcome
The University of Pretoria’s educational psychologist, Professor Kobus Maree, said he was appalled to hear that it would take so long to place a child in school and warned that it could impact her well being.
“She’s missing out on mastering basic developmental tasks. These tasks have the potential to recur over and over and over again,” Maree said.
“This child does not deserve this kind of thing. It could potentially be devastatingly detrimental to her psychological well-being,” he said.
IOL