Township schools have been left standing empty as a growing number of parents enrol their children at urban schools.
A number of East London schools have over the years been inundated with applications, particularly for Grade 1 and Grade 6.
According to acting education HoD Ray Tywakadi, the situation is a result of migration of parents from rural to urban areas.
Tywakadi said problem areas include East London, Mthatha and Port Elizabeth.
He was addressing the media at a back-to-school briefing hosted by the education department ahead of the first day of school last week.
“The phenomenon that is most worrying to us is that in townships like Duncan Village and Mdantsane, schools are standing empty,” Tywakadi said.
“Parents are taking their kids out of the townships into the urban areas and that’s where you experience the bigger pressure.
“Take East London alone – I can count the number of best-performing schools with the fingers of my one hand. The pressure is mostly caused by the pupils moving away from Mdantsane schools.”
In a report in the Dispatch last month, Crewe Primary School principal Peter Bebe said the school had received more than 400 Grade 1 applications for only 120 spaces, most of which will from this year be filled by the school’s own Grade R class.
Abbotsford Christian School foundation phase head Janine Radue said the school was already receiving applications for Grade 1 for 2018 while Hudson Park High School principal Roy Hewitt said the school had a waiting list of more than 300 pupils.
The schools said children living within the feeder area received priority, with some preferring to keep siblings together. Tywakadi said the department supported this move and urged parents to keep their children in schools in their area.
“One has to look at the fairness of the situation via the pupil-teacher ratio. What we are not going to do is force schools that are already overflowing with children to take more.
“We cannot do that when they leave schools empty right next door.”
But parent Vuyo Mazamisa, who lives in Croydon Street in Cambridge, said she was struggling to get her son into Cambridge Primary School despite living less than 2km from the school. After applying in 2013, Mazamisa said the application had been rejected because her address had been in question.
“The principal said he took a walk to my house to make sure I really lived there and he found my son there,” Mazamisa said, adding that the application had been rejected despite that.
Cambridge Primary principal Owen Cronje declined to comment when contacted.
Attempts to get comment from education department spokesman Malibongwe Mtima were unsuccessful. — zisandan@dispatch.co.za
Township schools face pupil exodus in E Cape
A number of East London schools have over the years been inundated with applications, particularly for Grade 1 and Grade 6.
According to acting education HoD Ray Tywakadi, the situation is a result of migration of parents from rural to urban areas.
Tywakadi said problem areas include East London, Mthatha and Port Elizabeth.
He was addressing the media at a back-to-school briefing hosted by the education department ahead of the first day of school last week.
“The phenomenon that is most worrying to us is that in townships like Duncan Village and Mdantsane, schools are standing empty,” Tywakadi said.
“Parents are taking their kids out of the townships into the urban areas and that’s where you experience the bigger pressure.
“Take East London alone – I can count the number of best-performing schools with the fingers of my one hand. The pressure is mostly caused by the pupils moving away from Mdantsane schools.”
In a report in the Dispatch last month, Crewe Primary School principal Peter Bebe said the school had received more than 400 Grade 1 applications for only 120 spaces, most of which will from this year be filled by the school’s own Grade R class.
Abbotsford Christian School foundation phase head Janine Radue said the school was already receiving applications for Grade 1 for 2018 while Hudson Park High School principal Roy Hewitt said the school had a waiting list of more than 300 pupils.
The schools said children living within the feeder area received priority, with some preferring to keep siblings together. Tywakadi said the department supported this move and urged parents to keep their children in schools in their area.
“One has to look at the fairness of the situation via the pupil-teacher ratio. What we are not going to do is force schools that are already overflowing with children to take more.
“We cannot do that when they leave schools empty right next door.”
But parent Vuyo Mazamisa, who lives in Croydon Street in Cambridge, said she was struggling to get her son into Cambridge Primary School despite living less than 2km from the school. After applying in 2013, Mazamisa said the application had been rejected because her address had been in question.
“The principal said he took a walk to my house to make sure I really lived there and he found my son there,” Mazamisa said, adding that the application had been rejected despite that.
Cambridge Primary principal Owen Cronje declined to comment when contacted.
Attempts to get comment from education department spokesman Malibongwe Mtima were unsuccessful. — zisandan@dispatch.co.za
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