Education
Question by Hon Lithakong
With regard to the School Learner Placement System in the Western Cape:
(1) Whether school principals have unfettered power or authority to deal with learner placement at schools as they wish; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) what is the recourse for learners and parents to his Department where a learner has been placed on a school’s waiting list until space becomes available but, when a space becomes available, the principal accepts a learner who was never on the waiting list;
(3) what is the turnaround time in which his Department processes and finalises learner placement appeals;
(4) how many learner placement appeals lodged with his Department in 2024 (a) were upheld in favour of the appellants and (b) have been dismissed?
14. My department has informed me of the following:
(1) In terms of the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996, the admission policy of a public school is determined by the School Governing Body in line with the Constitution and relevant legislation.
Principals act according to the school’s admissions policy in determining admissions.
2) Parents are encouraged to report all cases where they feel that their application has been treated unfairly to the district and head office.
Officials will investigate and deal with each instance on a case-by-case basis and respond appropriately.
(3) The Office of the Minister processes admissions appeals in terms of Section 5 (9) of the South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act 84 of 1996). The timeline for finalising an appeal depends on the complexity of the matter, volume of information received, the speed of the responses from parents and schools, and the volume of appeals currently being processed.
(4) As of 30 October 2024, 8 773 cases have been filed with the Minister.
Note: Appeals to multiple schools can be submitted for one learner, and the majority of parents have submitted multiple cases.
32 appeals have been upheld, and 1 025 cases have been closed as the learner was admitted to their school of choice after filing an appeal.
Thus, 1 057 cases have been concluded with learners admitted to their school of choice.
522 appeals have been dismissed. Parents have withdrawn a further 59 appeals. The remainder of the cases are currently in progress.
