School enrollment opens
Education minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa announced that the application process for pre-primary school and Grades 1 and 8 opened yesterday.
She called on parents and guardians to start with the application process as soon as possible as it closes on 31 July for Grades 1 and 8.
She cautioned parents not to fall victim to people who might pretend to be ministerial agents during the application process. She said that the ministry does not have 'middlemen' in this regard. “We also urge parents to be vigilant of people posing as agents who request to facilitate the application process at a certain fee. The Education Act No 16 of 2001 does not make provision for agents in this regard nor does the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture register agents to play as the middlemen in the application process for admission,” warned Hanse-Himarwa.
In her speech, read on her behalf by ministry permanent secretary Sanet Steenkamp, Hanse-Himarwa said due to urbanisation there is usually a challenge to cater for learners in these two grades. “As we may have observed, the intake of entry grades, mainly Grades 1 and 8, creates a challenge every year in almost all the regions. It should also be noted that, the movement of parents from one place to another especially to metropolitan cities and towns influenced by various factors such as employment and relocation, has a great impact on the demand.”
She also added that part of the reason why schools cannot handle the amount of learners that enrol for Grades 1 and 8 is because of the abolishment of compulsory contributions towards the school development fund. “Apart from the population growth, the abolishment of compulsory contributions to school development fund also increased the demand of space in schools,” she said.
Parents and guardians of applicants should obtain an application form at their preferred school of choice and these should be completed. The schools will then inform them in writing about the outcome of the application by 29 September 2017. The education minister emphasised that learners who are currently in attending schools where the next grade exists should not be allowed at another school because they automatically have a place in the next grade at their school.
She said only in cases where parents or guardians move to another region should the learners allowed to leave their school. “It should also be noted that learners that are already attending school where the next grade exists will not be allowed to move to another school as the child already has automatic place in the next grade, except in cases where parents move from one region to another,” said Hanse-Himarwa
Figures released by the education ministry for 2017 with regards to admission for pre-primary and Grades 1 to 8 show that over 41 000 learners were admitted for pre-primary education, and over 85 000 learners were admitted in Grade 1 while more than 62 000 learners were admitted for Grade 8 for this academic year.
She called on parents and guardians to start with the application process as soon as possible as it closes on 31 July for Grades 1 and 8.
She cautioned parents not to fall victim to people who might pretend to be ministerial agents during the application process. She said that the ministry does not have 'middlemen' in this regard. “We also urge parents to be vigilant of people posing as agents who request to facilitate the application process at a certain fee. The Education Act No 16 of 2001 does not make provision for agents in this regard nor does the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture register agents to play as the middlemen in the application process for admission,” warned Hanse-Himarwa.
In her speech, read on her behalf by ministry permanent secretary Sanet Steenkamp, Hanse-Himarwa said due to urbanisation there is usually a challenge to cater for learners in these two grades. “As we may have observed, the intake of entry grades, mainly Grades 1 and 8, creates a challenge every year in almost all the regions. It should also be noted that, the movement of parents from one place to another especially to metropolitan cities and towns influenced by various factors such as employment and relocation, has a great impact on the demand.”
She also added that part of the reason why schools cannot handle the amount of learners that enrol for Grades 1 and 8 is because of the abolishment of compulsory contributions towards the school development fund. “Apart from the population growth, the abolishment of compulsory contributions to school development fund also increased the demand of space in schools,” she said.
Parents and guardians of applicants should obtain an application form at their preferred school of choice and these should be completed. The schools will then inform them in writing about the outcome of the application by 29 September 2017. The education minister emphasised that learners who are currently in attending schools where the next grade exists should not be allowed at another school because they automatically have a place in the next grade at their school.
She said only in cases where parents or guardians move to another region should the learners allowed to leave their school. “It should also be noted that learners that are already attending school where the next grade exists will not be allowed to move to another school as the child already has automatic place in the next grade, except in cases where parents move from one region to another,” said Hanse-Himarwa
Figures released by the education ministry for 2017 with regards to admission for pre-primary and Grades 1 to 8 show that over 41 000 learners were admitted for pre-primary education, and over 85 000 learners were admitted in Grade 1 while more than 62 000 learners were admitted for Grade 8 for this academic year.
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