Today the Gauteng Department of Education hosted a workshop with community organisations to discuss proposed draft regulations to further enhance the admissions process in Gauteng public schools. The draft regulations which will be completed in time for the 2013 academic year will be published for public comment in the Government Gazette next week.
The Gauteng Department of Education has a constitutional obligation to give effect to the right to basic education. Embedded in this constitutional imperative is the duty placed on the MEC and the Head of Department (HoD) to ensure that every learner has access to quality education.
Since 2010 the department began the process of reviewing the current provincial regulations on learner admission as part of its legislative program to bring the regulations in line with ongoing legislative amendments. This has become necessary to deal with challenges peculiar to Gauteng with regard to access to schooling.
Over a period of time the Gauteng Department of Education has been under pressure to manage the increasing learner enrolment mainly as a result of the in migration into the province as well as of late registration of learners. In 2010 the Department processed over 25 000 late registration and placement of learners.
This problem of late registration and changing demographics has lead to enormous pressure on the education system, resulting in overcrowding in many of our schools. Similarly, it has also impacted on the ability of the department to plan effectively for the appropriate resourcing of schools that have experienced significant growth.
Together with a very extensive advocacy campaign the Gauteng Department of Education has managed admissions consensually with various stakeholders especially the associations of the SGBs since last year in order to address these challenges.
In this process we tried to find the best possible solutions to manage the ever increasing growth in learner numbers in Gauteng schools. Through the consultation with stakeholders the admission process improved significantly resulting in the number of late registration dropping significantly from 25 000 in 2010 to just over 12 000 in 2011.
The proposed changes to the admission regulations will further serve to strengthen the admission process in the province, and will lead to efficiency in planning to enable schools to prepare for the following academic year, overcome late registration and ensure timeous and appropriate placement of learners.
The effective management of admission will enable the department and schools to plan effectively for the resourcing of schools and provide appropriate supply of educators, infrastructure, Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM) and furniture where required. It will also assist the department to overcome the problem of overcrowding in many of our schools.
The department wishes to work with all education communities to ensure that we collectively provide quality education to all learners in the province and hence the consultation which has started today on the admissions regulations that will give effect to the constitutional mandate of access to basic education for all.
For more information contact:
Charles Phahlane
Tel: 011 355 1530
Cell: 071 860 4496
Source: SAPA
