Unplaced learners at schools in the Western Cape remain a challenge year after year.
Avril Daniels, Circuit Manager in Vredenburg, says a total of 134 learners still need to be placed in schools within the West Coast of which 87 are high school learners and 47 primary school learners. Daniels said the number of unplaced learners are significantly lower compared to 2021.
Bronagh Hammond, spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Departement (WCED), said that at the end of December 2021, there were 602 Grade 1 learners and 3 261 Grade 8 learners who still had to be placed in Western Cape schools.
“These numbers will be updated when schools reopen on 17 January. This is in comparison to December 2020 when 4 624 Grade 1 learners were unplaced and 8 765 Grade 8 learners were unplaced. A lot of effort has gone into accommodating learners. Unfortunately we are still receiving late applications daily,” said Hammond.
Daniels shared the same sentiments and said late applications contribute to unplaced learners.
“The parents of learners in the highest grade in primary schools do not apply for placement at the high school. Many of the walk-ins (late applications) are people that relocate to this area. Others just applied late.
Parents have shared their concerns about the lack of English classrooms within the West Coast and some had to revert to homeschooling. Daniels said the need for English language for learning and teaching is high.
“The need for English language learning and teaching is high. We do not have enough spaces open in English classes for these learners,” he said.
To accommodate the high capacity of learners, extra classrooms were built at Saldanha Primary. The school has phased in an extra English class from Grade 1 to Grade 5 to accommodate additional English learners. Daniels added that at schools such as Eden Primary, a second English class in Grade 1 has been implemented. “This extra class will continue in Grade 2 in 2023.”
Additional posts and mobile classrooms were allocated to schools to accommodate more classes.
Hammond cautions parents that schools are full. “We are also making a special appeal to parents to answer the phone calls from the Department when officials call with an offer of placement. We are still finding that parents are uncontactable when we want to offer places.
If your contact details have changed, please notify your district office. The WCED thanked parents for their patience during this process.
