Spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe confirms they have issued 34 020 placement offers to parents with a total of 30 333 parents who accepted the offers for placement, whilst 3 687 offers are still pending. Van der Merwe says they have previously indicated that if a parent or a legal guardian fails to either accept or decline the placement offer within seven days, the department will take the responsibility of placing the child. His statement comes as thousands of learners are expected at public schools in two weeks’ time whilst teachers started reporting for duty as of this morning.

“It is important to note that many parents applied to more than one school and the current pending offers are occupying available school spaces. In addition to this, we are fully aware that a number of parents submitted appeals to the Office of the MEC, whilst they have pending offers for placement. The department will advise the Office of the MEC not to consider these appeals as these learners were offered a placement at a school they have applied to,” said Van der Merwe.

OFM News previously reported that schools in the Frances Baard and John Taolo Gaetsewe Districts have for years been amongst those that experience an influx of learners at the beginning of the academic year, with the majority of them struggling to find a placement.

A number of parents in January criticised the department for what they view as a lack of communication following their online school applications. The majority said they had not received an SMS confirming their children’s placement post the deadline set by the department.

“The Online Admission System was open for late admissions from 11-18 January 2021. During this period, the Department received 11 155 late admission applications for this academic year. These applications will be finalised in due course and will be treated on a first come first served basis,” added Van der Merwe.

OFM News