A report that was issued by City Press was that there were more than 30 000 learners that were not yet placed for the 2023 academic year . Those who have not been placed are those who will be in Grade 1 and Grade 8 in 2023 in the province of Gauteng according to City Press.
In accordance with the report, it was informed that there were 268 192 pupils who had been placed for the 2023 academic period in Gauteng. This was after they applied via the online admission system. The information by City Press went on and informed that there had been 135 465 learners who had been placed for Grade 1, while 132 727 were placed for Grade 8 for the next academic year.
The Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane reportedly apologised for the non-placement of the 31 549 Grade 1 learner, and the 23 407 Grade 8 learners. There was assurance however that the department would do everything to ensure that pupils who were not yet placed, did so accordingly.
Capacity at schools in high-pressure areas was identified by the department as a major challenge that was being faced. The MEC said that there were schools which received large volumes of applications, which were more than what the schools were designed to accommodate.
As a result of this issue, the department reportedly made a decision of increasing capacity in such schools by making provisions for mobile class units. The mobile class units are expected to be provided to the schools before the commencement of the 2023 academic period. This is expected to go a long way towards ensuring that learners do not get inconvenienced when schools get opened in 2023. However, the question is, will the department fulfil these promises before the schools get opened for the 2023 academic period?