2018 school enrolment cannot go smoothly without feeder plan

23 May 2017

The DA is worried that the 2018 online enrolment process for grade 1 and 8 learners may face the same challenges that occurred this year namely over-crowding and poor learner placements without a comprehensive feeder system in place.

Despite being taken to the Constitutional Court last year to address the feeder zone issue and expand the radius of which schools learners may apply to attend, the Gauteng Department of Education has still not completed this project.

If the issue is not sorted out soon, then parents who are applying to enrol their children at schools in the 2018 academic year may find that they are placed in a situation where their child may not be accommodated at a school of their choice.

The DA will submit questions to Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi to ascertain when the feeder programme will be completed and if it has already started to impact on 2018 enrolments.

The DA strongly believes in quality education and that no child should be without a school come the start of the new academic year, but we also believe in parents being afforded the opportunity to choose which school is convenient and most suited for their children’s needs.

Issued by Khume Ramulifho, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, 23 May 2017