Cape Town - Western Cape schools are now full, with the provincial education department in the process of placing 680 more Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners for the 2023 school year.
Education MEC David Maynier said the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) had made tremendous progress in placing learners for the 2023 school year.
“As of December 20 2022, we have placed 111 616, or 99 %, of the Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners for the 2023 school year, and are in the process of placing 680, or 1%, of the Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners for the 2023 school year.
“We have placed 50 160 more Grade 1 and 8 learners than this time last year. Our officials and schools have done a phenomenal job under extreme pressure to make sure that they find a place for every child,” Maynier said.
“We are leaving no stone unturned in our effort to place every learner, and we will continue to work to finalise placement for all remaining learners “However, the education system is still under immense pressure: our schools are full, and we are going to struggle to place learners whose parents only apply on arrival in January next year. Which is why it is so important for communities to support us in delivering the new schools and classrooms we will need, and we must all work together to prioritise the delivery of school infrastructure for our children.”
The province’s school infrastructure delivery programme aims to deliver 842 new classrooms with at least 26 000 places for the 2023 school year.
“We have already completed 347 classrooms, with the remaining classrooms underway. I thank all the officials, government partners, contractors and school staff who are working tirelessly to get the job done,” Maynier said.
Cape Times