THE final fixtures for the 16th edition of the FNB Varsity Cup and FNB Varsity Shield rugby competitions are now available.

Both tournaments are to return to full-capacity stadiums at campuses across the country.

The Varsity Shield season begins on February 16, with all games played on Thursday evenings.

The Varsity Cup will set Monday nights alight, with the opening round kicking off on February 20.

Varsity Cup founder Francois Pienaar said, “The heat is on in 2023, and we can’t wait to see the rugby that rocks returning to packed stadiums at campuses around the country. Brace yourself for hot rugby, hot fans, and hot entertainment where rivalry will be celebrated, memories made, and new champions crowned.”

With the added pressure of it being a promotion-relegation year, we can expect sizzling competition as teams put everything on the line.

“I’m also excited to announce that we will be introducing a women’s competition in 2023. As one of the fastest growing team sports around the world, we are proud to ignite women’s rugby at university level in South Africa.”

The opening round of the FNB Varsity Cup features defending champions FNB UP-Tuks and FNB UFS at 17:00 on February 20.

The Cape derby between FNB Maties and FNB UCT follows at 19:00.

Both games will air live on SuperSport.

For the full fixtures for both competitions, see www.varsitycup.co.za.

Ticketing and match details will soon be released.

BASIC Education minister Angie Motshekga has again moved to counter the idea in South Africa that the country’s pass mark for the National Senior Certificate is 30%.

The minister this week said that the “30% pass mark” is a myth that gets perpetuated each year, adding that no such single pass mark exists.

In previous years, the department explained that outrage is often expressed over the fact that the lowest possible pass mark per subject is 30% – however, it said that proponents of the narrative ignore that no candidate can obtain a National Senior Certificate if they pass all seven subjects at 30%.

Learners must pass at least three subjects at 40%, it said.

The department said in 2022 that it is aware of arguments that raising this threshold to 50% would improve the education system; however, it said that this change would not be made as the system aims to encourage ‘different levels of achievement’.

“The 2014 ministerial committee, which recommended several changes to the National Senior Certificate, many of which have been followed through, did not recommend changing the lowest threshold. It is acceptable assessment practice to ensure that provision is made for different levels of achievement. All education systems have different levels of passes, not just one pass mark.”

Pass marks

South Africans can qualify for three different passes – a Bachelor’s pass, a Diploma pass, and a Certificate pass.

Bachelor’s pass

A bachelor’s pass means you can apply for a degree course at a university or university of technology and can study for a higher certificate, diploma or bachelor’s degree.

To achieve a bachelor’s pass, you must:

Pass 6 of 7 subjects

At least 50% in four subjects

At least 40% in Home Language

At least 30% in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT)

At least 30% for one other subject

It should be noted that even if a student has achieved a bachelor’s pass, they do not automatically qualify for a university position.

Diploma pass

A diploma pass requires 40% in four higher credit subjects, 30% in three lower credit subjects, and you may fail one subject.

With this pass, you can enrol for a bridging course at a Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college or a diploma course at a university of technology.

To receive a diploma pass, a student must:

Pass 6 of 7 subjects

At least 40% in four subjects

At least 40% in Home Language

At least 30% in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT)

Certificate pass

A certificate pass requires a 40% pass in your home language, 2 subjects above 40%, 4 subjects above 30% and you may fail 1 subject. This pass allows you to study for a higher certificate.

Pass 6 out of 7 subjects

At least 40% in Home Language

At least 40% in two other subjects

At least 30% for four other subjects

This gives learners access to different levels of tertiary education and doesn’t rely on one pass mark across the board.

“Hence it needs to be understood that candidates scoring 30% in most of their subjects will not qualify for admission to a Higher Education Institution. However, not all learners are expected to qualify for Higher Education admission,” the department said.

Motshekga’s response comes after former Democratic Alliance leader and current Build One SA leader, Mmusi Maimane, criticised the country’s education system this week, saying that the 30% pass mark was a deception and that candidates should only be granted a matric certificate if they got 50% or higher.

Maimane said that politicians used the low threshold to boost pass rate numbers and, in doing so, avoid accountability.

“We must reject the notion that 30% is a pass, reject a national results announcement based on that mark and then hold the ministry accountable,” he said.

Even taking into account the fact that three subjects need to be passed at 40%, Maimaine said that this makes the average 35%, which is not any better. He said learners should pass six subjects above 50% to qualify for an NSC.

The department will announce the 2022 matric exam results on 19 January 2023, with the individual marks being distributed to matriculants from 20 January.

Business Tech

NIRVANA PILLAY

After Boitumelo gave birth she decided not to go back to school. She assumed that, because she was now a mother, she would be barred from returning. Then she had a surprising interaction: They [school] were like, why did you not come back [to school], do you attend [school] elsewhere? I was like, no, I have a child. Then they were like, on January we need you here, this school is empty without you, and that gave me the confidence of saying, oh I must go back to school.

In fact, Boitumelo had the right, under South African law, to continue her schooling through and after her pregnancy – without fear of stigma or discrimination. But her experience of a supportive school environment is sadly all too rare. In early November 2022 a learner in the KwaZulu-Natal province was forced to take her school to court so she could sit for her final matriculation exams. She was expelled in July 2022 in accordance with the school’s “pregnancy policy.”

More than 100,000 adolescent girls give birth in South Africa each year. Adolescent births represented between 12 and 14% of births in facilities between 2019 and 2022. Specifically, the number of births delivered by adolescents aged between 10 and 19 in South Africa’s public health facilities rose from 129,223 in 2019 to 139,361 in 2022. This increase in the number of births is a setback when viewed against the modest progress made in lowering teenage pregnancy rates between 1998 and 2016.

Early, unintended pregnancy affects young women’s educational, health, social and economic futures. It can keep them from continuing or finishing school and thus from pursuing further education and training.

I wanted to know what influenced young women’s decisions about schooling when they found out they were pregnant. Some dropped out temporarily; some remained in school throughout their pregnancies and returned after giving birth. Others dropped out permanently.

My findings suggest that schools, families and the wider community play a critical role in determining what decision a young woman will make. Support and encouragement can keep them in school while stigmatisation and exclusion push them out entirely.

Support and childcare

For my study I conducted in-depth interviews with 30 young women in an urban community in South Africa; 24 were in school when they found out they were pregnant. Their ages ranged from 15 to 20 years. In all but one case, their pregnancies were unintended.

Thirteen of the participants had decided to remain at school upon finding out they were pregnant.

They experienced mixed reactions from the school management and teachers along a continuum of active support for them to continue school, to not acknowledging the pregnancy at all, to attempts to dismiss or shame them.

In one case a pregnant learner was told she had to leave school because it would not take responsibility for her health. Her mother challenged the school by arranging for an aunt to accompany the young woman to school every day to take responsibility for her health.

Being able to organise childcare for babies was an important determinant for remaining at school. The Child Support Grant, which currently amounts to R480 (about US$28) per month and is awarded through means testing, increased the agency of young mothers to find care for their babies in local creches or paid caregivers, especially in urban areas, where kin were not always available for childcare.

A further important determinant of remaining at school in spite of challenges experienced was the desire not to disappoint families who had made sacrifices to educate their daughters.

Making hard decisions

Another six of the participants temporarily dropped out of school. This was largely a result of school policy, shame and embarrassment about attending school while pregnant, and taking a break while coping with the onerous demands of pregnancy and motherhood.

The remaining five young women I interviewed permanently dropped out of school because of school policy, inability to manage the dual demands of motherhood and schooling, and lack of support to care for their babies. Their decision was strongly influenced by the reactions of family, partners and friends.

For example, Bontle was told by her mother that she had to take care of her “mistake” (baby) and therefore had to give up school: I couldn’t go back (to school) because my mother said I should take care of the baby, no one’s going to take care of my baby because it is a choice that I made and I wanted to have a baby while I was still schooling.

These findings emphasise the critical role schools and the wider family and community play in determining young pregnant women’s decisions to continue and complete their schooling.

They also show how schools continue to exercise “policy” barring pregnant learners from school or shaming them in spite of this violating South Africa’s legal and constitutional framework.

Young pregnant women require support to advocate for their right to continue schooling and need care and support by family and community to make it easier to continue going to school.

Accountability and support

The Department of Basic Education must ensure that school management and governing bodies are well versed with policy around pregnant learners. Schools that violate the rights of pregnant learners must be held to account.

Individual schools need to strike a balance between treating pregnant learners like any other learner and accommodating their particular needs. Pregnant learners’ increased risk of dropping out of school should be seen within the broader package of care and support offered to vulnerable learners, and teachers should be trained to offer psychosocial and other support.

Schools can also link pregnant and parenting learners to health and social services; for example, ensuring that young mothers receive the Child Support Grant.

(Nirvana Pillay, Visiting Researcher Wits School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand)

THE CONVERSATION

The Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane says his department has a total of 571 Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners – whose parents and guardians submitted complete applications on the Online Admissions system – remain to be placed. This translates to 97 Grade 1 learners and 474 Grade 8 learners who departmental officials are working towards placing.

On Tuesday, Chiloane reveled that 1 394 have not been placed.

This simply means that the 2023 Online Admissions system has facilitated the placement of over 291 574 Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners (Grade 1: 139 367 and Grade 8: 152 207) to date, spokesperson Steve Mabona said.

Accordingly, the department said, placement challenges within identified high-pressure areas – where certain schools received a much higher number of applications than the number of learners they can accommodate – are being attended to through a variety of interventions which will ensure that all learners are placed.

In order to alleviate capacity pressure, the GDE is building satellite schools in high-pressure areas. These are schools which are an extension of certain high-pressure schools, but are built on a different site or geographical area not far from the main school. 

In Johannesburg West, the department says it has already built a satellite school for Florida High School, meaning that we will continue to place learners at that school.

The same applies for Tshwane West, where two satellite schools are currently under construction, Theresapark Primary School No. 2 and Theresapark Secondary School.

In Ekurhuleni, especially in Kempton Park, high-pressure schools will use specialist rooms for teaching, and these have helped significantly to increase capacity. 

Olifantsfontein Primary School will be assisted with the delivery of more mobile classrooms to accommodate all unplaced learners at that school. 

Parents who seek to apply for inner grades outside of Grade 1 and Grade 8 are encouraged to visit their nearest GDE District Office after our 10 Day Headcount on 24 January 2023.

“This will put our Districts in a better position to give parents the necessary assistance they need for placement as available spaces at schools would have been determined at that stage,” Chiloane said.

In addition, the GDE has commissioned principals at schools to develop catch-up programmes to accommodate learners who were unplaced during the start of the 2023 academic year.

“Our team is working around the clock to ensure that all learners are placed. We appeal with all parents and guardians to allow these processes to take place as they will result in the successful placement of their children. We profusely apologise for the inconvenience caused and we extend our best wishes to all learners and teachers for the 2023 academic year,” said MEC Chiloane.

READ: Angry parents urge MEC to intervene amid a standoff with principal of Ponelopele Oracle Secondary School in Midrand

–INSIDE EDUCATION

PHUTI MOSOMANE

THE first day of the 2023 academic year for grade 8 learners in Ponelopele Oracle Secondary school, in Midrand Gauteng were characterised by tensions between school principal and some parents. 

The school has capacity to enrol 900 with only 24 classrooms which takes in between 35 to 40 learners but has already enrolled 1484 learners admitted in the school. 

The school standard capacity for Grade 8 class is 150 learners.

Through the Online Admissions system, the school has accepted 209 new Grade 8 learners, and the Department of Basic Education through the district has transferred additional 136 learners who have applied on time and met all requirements. 

On the first day of schools reopening on Wednesday, there were no signs of mobile classrooms or a plan in place by the school to cater the 136 learners who received SMS notifications last year December that they have been “successfully placed through transfer”. 

The principal of the school addressed angry parents who went to school on Monday and were told to return on Wednesday for updates on learners who were transferred by the department. 

But on Wednesday, parents were frustrated because there was new information except that the school now has a bigger number of learners who were told to come to the school. 

“My experience has been a nightmare since Monday. I registered my child last year and I got an SMS that said my child was accepted into the school. To my surprise on Monday when I got here I was told she is not accepted but placed through a transfer. I have siblings, and I was told to go to the police station to certify documents which I did,” said a parent, Comfort Makhadi.

Makhadi said as a parent, she is upset because the principal instead of giving feedback he told them that there is no space and only today he was going to call the department of education. 

“The principal said to us, being placed through transfer means there is no space in the school, but I have already bought the uniform and stationery because the SMS said my child has been successfully placed through parent transfer,” she said, adding that this is the only school she was offered despite applying to multiple schools. 

Makhadi said she applied on time and is hopeful that the department of education will assist the school in making more spaces available. 

Another parent Jabulani Mbese told Inside Education that he came to the school as soon as he received an SMS last confirming placement to verify and I was told that my child was placed through transfer. 

Mbese: “I was told to bring a school report and go buy a uniform which I did. I was disappointed when I heard the principal saying that he will not take learners placed through transfer. How possible is it that the district would transfer our kids to his school, and he is telling us he can’t take them?” 

Mbese urged the department to change the system because every year parents go through the same challenges. 

Roots of confusion 

Some parents are saying the online system has always worked, the issue lies in the messaging from the auto generated ”offer status”.

The school has taken in learners whose parents received a message that said ”accepted as final” and not those who received a message that said ”your learner has been placed through parent transfer”. 

In simple terms, “the ‘offer status’ that said ‘accepted as final’ meant that the placements were made within the school capacity, and those placed through ‘parent transfer’ represents a decision of the department irrespective of whether there is a space or not- hence there are problems,” one educator who preferred not to be name tells me. 

During the COVID-19 period, the school enrolled 1449 learners because the rotational system made it possible to accommodate more. 

MEC Matome Chiloane said townships are the backbone of the public education system in the Gauteng province but the growing number of overcrowded classes means educators will not be able to give each student equal attention. 

SADTU secretariat officer Xolani Fakude said the trade union has been getting reports about the Online admission system. 

“We are getting reports of admission challenges especially in provinces where an online system is used. The intention may have been good in terms of increasing accessibility. However, the very same method is beginning to be an inhibitor of sorts. We are receiving reports of learners who have not been placed,” Fakude said. 

The teacher unions said they want to see teaching and learning on the first day of schooling but there are “overcrowded classrooms and mobile classrooms that must still be put in some schools in Gauteng.” 

Fakude urged the department of education in Gauteng to have a resource plan in place in an effort to solve growing challenges of infrastructure. 

Department of education has not responded to questions by the time of publishing this article.

INSIDE EDUCATION

THE Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), an entity of the Department of Employment and Labour, has finally resumed processing and paying UIF benefits to former teaching and general assistants in the KwaZulu-Natal Province.                           

The campaign started in the Amajuba District Municipality area in November 2022 where the Fund disbursed R7,7 million to 1746 former Educator Assistants and General Assistants. 

“The campaign subsequently proceeded to eThekwini in December 2022 where the Fund paid out R28,8 million to 6204 beneficiaries. To date, R36,5 million has been paid out to 7950 clients,” the department of labour said. 

As of 9 January until 20 January 2023, the fund will be processing and paying out claims in the Zululand District Municipality area as follows:

9-10 January 2023: Nuwe Republiek Primary School Vryheid.

11-12 January 2023: Masibumbane High School in Ulundi.

13,16 & 17 January 2023: Bhekuzulu High School in Nongoma.

18-19 January 2023: Pongola Akademie.

20 January 2023: Paulpietersburg Primary School.

Beneficiaries were urged to bring along their Identity or valid Passport Documents, a fully charged Smartphone with data, and proof of account (banking details).

The former Educator Assistants were employed as part of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI), which was implemented as the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) across all nine provinces to reduce youth unemployment in the country.

When their contracts ended, the former employees qualified to claim unemployment insurance benefits from the UIF. 

Due to the large volume of claims anticipated and to prevent long queues at Labour Centres, the UIF team in KwaZulu-Natal says it has met with the Provincial Department of Education in Amajuba and agreed on a consolidated approach. 

“This included the Department availing venues while the fund confirms the compliance of the former workers in terms of their employment history, declarations, and contributions,” it said.

The department said it will also be rolling out the project to other parts of the province and will announce dates and details in due course through its social media platforms and the media.

-INSIDE EDUCATION 

The U.S. Supreme Court asked President Joe Biden’s administration to weigh in on whether the justices should decide whether a publicly funded charter school in North Carolina may have violated the rights of female students – deemed “fragile vessels” by the school’s founder – by requiring girls to wear skirts.

The justices are considering whether to hear an appeal by Charter Day School, located in the southeastern North Carolina town of Leland and operated by a private educational management company, of a lower court’s ruling that found that the dress code ran afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law.

The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, asked U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar to file a brief expressing the Biden administration’s view on the litigation and whether the Supreme Court should take up the matter.

Aaron Streett, a lawyer for the school, called the Supreme Court’s decision to seek the solicitor general’s input rather than reject its appeal a “positive sign” that “indicates that the court views this as an important case that may merit further review.”

Three female students, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit that accused the school of violating their civil rights. The U.S. Justice Department earlier in the litigation filed a brief agreeing with the ACLU argument that the 14th Amendment applies to the school, which is state-chartered but privately run.

“Girls at Charter Day School have the same constitutional rights as their peers at other public schools – including the freedom to wear pants,” Ria Tabacco Mar, director of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project, said in a statement.

Charter Day School, which enrolls students from kindergarten through eighth grade, emphasizes “traditional values” and has implemented a dress code that its founder, businessman Baker Mitchell, has said would “preserve chivalry” and ensure that girls are treated “courteously and more gently than boys.”

Mitchell, as explained in the lower court’s ruling, viewed chivalry as “a code of conduct” under which women are “regarded as a fragile vessel that men are supposed to take care of and honor.”

Charter schools are publicly funded but operated separately from school boards run by local governments. They usually are independently run as stand-alone entities but also can be managed by for-profit companies or nonprofit organizations running multiple schools, as in this case.

The school’s lawyers said the 2022 ruling by the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals posed an “existential threat” to a conservative-backed movement to increase alternatives for parents who want their children to receive public education by expanding the numbers of charter schools.

Charter Day School argued that the 14th Amendment does not apply to it because it is a private entity, not a “state actor” like public schools operated directly by North Carolina school districts. The 4th Circuit on a 10-6 vote decided that it was a “state actor” because North Carolina delegated to the school its duty to provide free, universal education to students.

The plaintiffs argued that the dress code not only violated the 14th Amendment but also subjected them to discrimination and denial of the full benefits of their education in violation of the civil rights law Title IX, which bars sex discrimination in education. The 4th Circuit agreed regarding the 14th Amendment but did not resolve the Title IX issue.

“Courts may not subjugate the constitutional rights of these public-school children to the facade of school choice,” wrote U.S. Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan in a decision joined by her fellow Democratic appointees on the 4th Circuit.

The six dissenting votes on the 4th Circuit came from Republican-appointed judges including Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, who said the school’s “chivalric approach should neither be legally banished from the educational system, nor should it be legally imposed.”

-REUTERS

PHUTI MOSOMANE 

BASIC Education Minister Angie Motshekga and Premier of Gauteng Panyaza Lesufi are expected to visit several schools in Gauteng to assess the state of readiness as learners return to the classroom for the 2023 academic programme.

“The minister will monitor schools in Gauteng as inland schools begin the 2023 academic year,” the national Department of Basic Education said in a statement on Tuesday.

Motshekga is expected to visit Cosmo City Primary School in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg.

She will also pay a visit to Cosmo City Secondary School, Diepsloot Primary School as well as Sunrise Secondary School in the area.

Gauteng Premier, together with MEC for Education Matome Chiloane will lead also the school reopening programme to mark the start of the 2023 academic year. 

Lesufi and Chiloane will activate the Back-to-School campaign and officiate the handover of Mapenane Secondary School in Ga-Rankuwa, City of Tshwane. 

Both will also visit Omphile Community Creche in Garankuwa Zone 2, north of Pretoria.

The Office of the Premier has also revealed that other Members of the Executive Council (MECs) will participate in oversight visits at several schools across the province to observe the first day of teaching and learning and conduct oversight visits to Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDs) to gauge their preparedness.  

– MEC for Community Safety Faith Mazibuko will visit Masibambane Day Care and Silver Oaks Secondary School in Eldorado Park

– MEC for Finance Jacob Mamabolo will visit Tsakane ECD and Asser Maloka Secondary School in Nigel

– MEC for Health and Wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko visits Laban Motlhabi Comprehensive in Springs

– MEC for Social Development and Social Development, Agriculture, Rural Mbali Hlophe will visit Katleho-Impumelelo Secondary School in Midvaal

– MEC for Economic Development, Environment, Agriculture & Rural Development Tasneem Motara will visit Soshanguve South Secondary School and MpheThuto ECD. 

Schools in the Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga  and North West provinces are also set to open for the new academic year on Wednesday.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Gauteng Department of Education MEC Matome Chiloane revealed on Tuesday that over a thousand learners are still to be placed. 

“A total of 292 145 learners have applied, so far the department has managed to  place  290 751, and  1 394 have not been placed, we have successfully placed 99.52% of the learners,” Chiloane said.

Of the total number of learners still to be placed, 236 have applied for grade 1 and  1 158 for grade 8. This translates into  0.48% of the total number of learners with no school. 

The Department procured a total of 419 mobiles to address pressure of unplaced applications across the province. The procurement of self-build classroom is also used to increase placement capacity.

“We continue to encourage schools to be part of the self-build programme. In high pressure areas we are establishing satellite schools. There is a concerted effort to work with the sister departments to acquire more land to increase the number of schools in high pressure areas,” Chiloane said. 

In Ekurhuleni North District, 236 Grade 1 applicants remain unplaced in Olifantsfontein. Chiloane said the school will receive three additional mobile units to increase the school capacity.

More mobile units will be accommodated on the grounds of a local church to accommodate the remaining unplaced Grade 1 applicants. 

Meanwhile 501 Grade 8 applicants remain unplaced in the Kempton Park Area. The schools will confirm the available spaces for further placement once applicants report to schools on day one (Wednesday January 11, 2023).

The department has requested the schools to use specialist rooms to accommodate learners.

In Tshwane West District, 223 Grade 8 applicants around Akasia/Theresa Park remain unplaced. The department is in the process of building a satellite high school to accommodate the remaining unplaced applicants . 

For Johannesburg West District there are 434 Grade 8 applicants still remaining to be placed in Roodepoort. MEC said the department is negotiating to occupy facilities used by Robinhood College in Maraisburg.

“But 10 Classrooms not in use will be cleaned with minor renovations done before the end of January 2023,” he said. 

On Tuesday, MEC Chiloane revealed that the department received  8 375 late applications since 20 December 2022. From the total, 5 739 applied for grade 1, and  2 636 for grade 8. 

“Parents must know that those who applied late will be placed at any available school automatically,” he added.  

The deadline for late application is 31 January 2023, and catchup programs will be implemented at affected schools. 

 INSIDE EDUCATION 

PHUTI MOSOMANE

GAUTENG Department of Education MEC Matome Chiloane says that just over a thousand learners in both Grade 1 and Grade 8 were still due to be placed in various schools across the province. 

“A total of 292 145 learners have applied, so far the department has managed to place 290 751, and 1 394 have not been placed, we have successfully placed 99.52% of the learners,” Chiloane said on Tuesday while addressing a media briefing on placements.

Of the total number of learners still to be placed, 236 have applied for Grade 1 and 1 158 for Grade 8. This translates into 0.48% of the total number of learners with no school. 

The GDE procured a total of 419 mobiles to address pressure of unplaced applications across the province.

The procurement of self-built classrooms is also used to increase placement capacity. 

“We continue to encourage schools to be part of the self-built programme. In high-pressure areas we are establishing satellite schools. There is a concerted effort to work with the sister departments to acquire more land to increase the number of schools in high pressure areas,” Chiloane said. 

In Ekurhuleni North District, 236 Grade 1 applicants remain unplaced in Olifantsfontein.

Chiloane said the school will receive three additional mobile units to increase the school capacity.

More mobile units will be accommodated on the grounds of a local church to accommodate the remaining unplaced Grade 1 applicants. 

Meanwhile, 501 Grade 8 applicants remain unplaced in the Kempton Park Area.

The schools will confirm the available spaces for further placement once applicants report to schools on day 1.

The department has requested the schools to use specialist rooms to accommodate learners.

In Tshwane West District, 223 Grade 8 applicants around Akasia/Theresa Park remain unplaced. The department is in the process of building a satellite high school to accommodate the remaining unplaced applicants. 

For Johannesburg West District there are 434 Grade 8 applicants still remaining to be placed in Roodepoort.

The MEC said the department is negotiating to occupy facilities used by Robinhood College in Maraisburg.

“But 10 Classrooms not in use will be cleaned with minor renovations done before the end of January 2023,” he said. 

On Tuesday, Chiloane further revealed that the department received 8 375 late applications since 20 December 2022.

From the total, 5 739 applied for Grade 1, and 2 636 for Grade 8. 

“Parents must know that those who applied late will be placed at any available school automatically,” he added.  

The deadline for late application is 31 January 2023, and catchup programs will be implemented at affected schools. 

 INSIDE EDUCATION