1 week Ago
Thousands of children whose parents are expected to apply for school placement in the new year may have to wait until the end of the first term to be placed in the Western Cape, says Education MEC David Maynier. He confirmed that schools in the province are already full and that they were faced with challenges including providing the infrastructure, teachers and the school resources needed given the expected increase in learner numbers. As of December 4, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) allocated 117 407 or 97% places of the learners for whom applications were received for Grade 1 and 8 for the 2025 school year.
Placement was in progress for 3 698 Grade 1 and 8 learners. In addition, from January 1, 2025, the department expects to receive extremely late admission applications for around 4 000 Grade 1 and 8 learners. "We will work to place every learner for whom an application is received going forward, but we want to be clear that Western Cape schools are full, and we appeal for patience from parents submitting new applications as they may not be placed before the end of the first term in the 2025 school year.
"We understand that this is a stressful and anxious period for parents, and we are asking parents to work with us as we try to accommodate their children as soon as possible. We are exploring all available options to find a place for these learners for the start of the school year," said Maynier. He said they were building new schools and classrooms.
.. Okuhle Hlati.
