Education
(1) Whether the case of a learner, whose details has been furnished to her Department for the purpose of her reply, has been brought to her attention; if so,
(2) whether she and her Department are able to assist with the placement of this learner; if not, why not; if so, how;
(3) whether learners who are attending junior high schools get admission to the senior high school; if not, what is the admission procedure;
(4) whether there is an age limit for admission to attend a high school; if so, what are the relevant details?
15. My department has informed me of the following:
(1) Yes, upon receipt of the member’s question.
(2) The learner attended Aloe Junior High School up until the end of Grade 9. In 2019 the parent applied to three different schools, of which two applications were subsequently withdrawn. The third school was Aloe Secondary School. The application was unsuccessful. The learner was placed on the department’s unplaced learner list for 2020. As per the department’s records, the parent was uncontactable on more than one occasion. Once the district office managed to contact the parent in March 2020, the option of enrolment in a TVET college was suggested and the parent agreed. No further feedback was received from the parent thereafter.
(3) Junior High Schools and Secondary Schools are separate institutions. Attendance at a Junior High School does not guarantee acceptance at a Secondary School. All learners must apply, and the necessary admissions procedures are followed according to the admission policy of the school.
(4) The SA Schools Act, 84, 1996 specifies that the compulsory school going age is up until age 15 or Grade 9, whichever occurs first. “Every parent must cause every learner for whom he or she is responsible to attend a school from the first school day of the year in which such a learner reaches the age of seven years until the last school day of the year in which such a learner reaches the age of fifteen years or the ninth grade, whichever occurs first”.
In terms of paragraph 30 of the National Admission Policy, learners who are in the school system, but who have become over-age because of repeating grades, may not be refused continued education at a school, but, when transferring from one school to another, may be admitted only with the approval of the circuit team manager.
The prescripts and procedures are described in Circular 240/2003:
Transfer from one school to another:
Par. 3.2 [ii] of WCED Circular 0142/2000 further specifies the following in addition:
"[ii] GET band learners (Grades 1 to 9) who exceed the age group norm limit by more than 2 years may only be admitted with the written approval of the circuit manager
• if it is in the interest of that learner
• it does not disadvantage other learners.
Learners who wish to enrol for Grades 10 to 12 and who exceed the age group norm limit by more than 2 years or who have had an interruption of 6 months or longer in school attendance must be advised to enrol at an FET.
