Media Release
Minister of Education Debbie Schäfer
Western Cape

13 June, 2016

WCED appeals for patience while schools finalise registration process.

Statement by Minister Debbie Schäfer, Minister of Education

This year the WCED launched an early enrolment campaign for 2017. This was done to assist our parents, officials and schools with the enrolment process as early as possible, so as to accelerate the confirmation of school placement for 2017.

Parents were required to submit applications to schools by the 11^th March 2016.

The deadline for schools to inform parents of the outcome of their applications is Friday 24^th June 2016. This means that not all schools have finalised the process of admissions and still have two weeks to do so.

Some schools have however, already informed parents of the outcome of their applications. For some, this has been good news and for others it has resulted in disappointment.

Following the receipt of these letters, the WCED and the Education Ministry have been inundated with requests from parents for placement in their schools of choice, or in schools closest to their homes. Many are upset that their child has not been accepted into a particular school and are "demanding" placement at these schools.

While we understand that parents are concerned that they will not get their child into their school of choice, there are a number of factors that they have to consider:

1. The SGB of the school is responsible for the admissions policy of that particular school, not the WCED. Therefore, a school can determine certain criteria that are in line with the law, which could benefit some learner admissions over others - such as sibling preference.

2. Applying at a school does not guarantee acceptance and the WCED has been very clear in all its communication that parents must apply at more than one school. It is quite surprising how many parents only apply at one school each year.

3. The proximity to a school does not always guarantee placement. Living 50m from a school or 50 km cannot guarantee placement. Some schools factor proximity in their admissions policies, but it is rarely the sole criterion, if it is a criterion at all.

4. Some schools receive five times the number of applications than the places they have available. Therefore they cannot satisfy the needs of everyone who applies. So naturally some parents will be disappointed.

5. Focus Schools and Agricultural Schools may apply an admission test together with the application. However, this is not applicable to other public ordinary schools.

6. The admissions process is not yet closed! Therefore, some parents may still receive confirmation of placement at a school in the coming weeks.

7. The WCED cannot provide information now as to which schools still have accommodation available as the process is yet to be completed.

8. The Constitutional Court judgment of FEDSAS vs Gauteng MEC in relation to feeder zones does not apply to the Western Cape as it related specifically to Regulations in Gauteng. Feeder zones may, however, form part of a school's criteria for admissions, as determined by the School Governing Body.

One thing is for sure, the uptake in admissions this year has revealed that our early enrolment campaign has worked and I am pleased to see that so many parents have taken their responsibility of enrolling their child seriously.

Once the 24^th June deadline has passed, parents have until the 25^th of July to inform schools of their acceptance at a particular school. This date is important as this then allows the WCED to start capturing school admissions on our online database - the Schools Admission Management System (SAMI).

This will then allow WCED officials to identify which schools still have spaces and to direct parents to these schools, as well as track the number of unplaced learners and to follow up with district officials to reduce and resolve these cases.

This however, can only be done once schools have finalised their admissions process. This requires their co-operation as we need schools to submit their final list of admissions to the WCED as soon as possible. We expect that this will only be finalised in the middle of the third term.

I am therefore appealing to parents to be patient while schools finalise the registration process. Each district has a dedicated official responsible for assisting with admissions, and during the course of the third term, they will contact those parents whose child/ children still require placement.

We also encourage parents to apply to more than one school in case their schools of choice are full, and to confirm their choice as soon as possible after receiving offers of placement. This will make it easier to identify vacant places and to accommodate all learners. Parents are also encouraged to request to be placed on the schools waiting list should they have not secured a place at that particular school.

Those who have not secured places by the third term are encouraged to contact their nearest district office to assist with placement.

Until then, we cannot confirm where spaces are available.

Media enquiries:
Jessica Shelver
Spokesperson for the Minister of Education, Debbie Schäfer
Western Cape Education Department
Tel: 076 175 0663