Three weeks into the new school year and more than 300 pupils in Tongaat and Verulam are still waiting for space at the local public schools.
Even though the school year got underway on 15 February, many pupils are still sitting at home. Stressed parents fear their children might not be able to attend school this year. A parent, Sarzaza Suleman, said her
13-year-old daughter was still trying to get into a school. “I visited Trenance Park Secondary to register my child and I was told Grade 8 classrooms are full. I was also told they have over 80 pupils on the waiting list. At Mountview Secondary I was advised to look for another school as they had 13 pupils waiting for the space,” she said.
“The overall number of children that are on waiting lists in both areas is over 300. I do not understand why there are so many children without schools. I am afraid my child will miss the academic year.” She called on the government to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Another parent, Mary Govender, said that she had gone to the education department’s district office in Phoenix on several occasions to get her daughter Rekha placed in a school, but was told there was no space for her 13-year-old daughter. “My child is supposed to be in Grade 8 this year, but there is no space for her in the local schools. As things stand she is going to be stuck at home this year.” She said her daughter did not want to speak to anyone and tended to lock herself in her room most of the time. “My daughter is not in a good mood lately because she is not attending school.”
Lajeeth Maharaj, acting manager at the Billy Nair Education Department Circuit, said they are aware of the issue. He said schools such as Verulam Secondary, Mountview Secondary and Glenhaven Secondary were full and there were about 50 pupils in each classroom. “It is sad that we have over 300 pupils not attending school.” Maharaj said that since November 2020 he had been dealing with parents who had been looking for schools for their children. “It is just that the population in the areas has grown to such an extent that we have run out of classroom space. To alleviate the problem, we have requested our provincial education department to provide mobile classrooms and additional teachers to accommodate all pupils,” said Maharaj. He said there was a need for the education department to find a permanent solution to the shortage of classrooms in the areas. “We need to ensure that pupils and parents are not crying for space in our schools.”
Maharaj said the Covid-19 pandemic had also contributed to a backlog as parents had been unable to register on time last year. Sihle Mlotshwa, provincial education spokesperson, said he would liaise with the district manager to find a way to accommodate the pupils.
