A desperate Beacon Bay mother may have to move to Cape Town to enrol her son into Grade 1, because despite applying at scores of schools from Kidd’s Beach to Chintsa, her boy is still sitting at home.
After spending much of last year phoning and calling on East London schools only to be told they were full, crèche assistant Fiona de Jager, 25, finally placed her six-year-old son at the Centre of Excellence in Southernwood last month.
However, she has reluctantly removed him from the school because he was being teased and “did not fit in”.
“The first day went well, but on the second day he came home saying “but I’m different” and when I asked him why, he said the other kids didn’t want to play with him because he was different.
“On the third day he asked what mlungu means and I told him it means a little white boy. It’s what all the other kids kept calling him. On the fourth day he was upset and crying and saying he didn’t want to go to school.”
When her son’s distress escalated, De Jager said she discussed the situation with his teacher last week who confirmed children were not playing with him.
“He was crying every morning so I took him out and did not send him to school on Tuesday. I don’t want him emotionally destroyed,” she said.
Fighting back tears, De Jager said she was now back to square one because she had nowhere to send her boy.
Her search for a school began last February when she approached Beaconhurst Primary for an application form but was told it was too early to apply.
“I went there because it is close to my home but they said I should come back in the second term.”
De Jager and her son moved to Cape Town in the interim, but when she was unable to find employment, she returned to East London at the end of July and her search for a school intensified.
One school told her that although it had five places for Grade 1, these were reserved for children who did not pass, while a private school in Gonubie was unaffordable.
“I tried St Anne’s, President Primary, Stirling, Beaconhurst with no luck and then when the schools opened again this year I started phoning Lilyfontein, Hudson Primary, Cambridge, Beaconhurst.
“I even went as far as Kidd’s Beach, Chintsa and a school in Vergenoeg. I phoned some schools more than once and my friends and mother-in-law were also phoning. They all said sorry, they are full.”
De Jager said she continued to contact schools while her son was enrolled at the Centre for Excellence and although Laerskool Grens agreed to accept him, his Afrikaans was not up to scratch.
“Now he is staying at home with his granny who will teach him, but she is not a healthy person. Also, I want him to have interaction with other kids.
“I think I may dress him in his grey school shorts and white shirt and take him round to schools and see what they say then.”
Education department spokesman Loyiso Pulumani said the lack of space in Grade R, Grade 1 and Grade 8 in city schools was “a huge problem”.
He said the department had “pleaded” with some schools to enrol extra children by offering them the incentive of an additional teacher and classroom.
EL mom tells of agony as son without school
After spending much of last year phoning and calling on East London schools only to be told they were full, crèche assistant Fiona de Jager, 25, finally placed her six-year-old son at the Centre of Excellence in Southernwood last month.
However, she has reluctantly removed him from the school because he was being teased and “did not fit in”.
“The first day went well, but on the second day he came home saying “but I’m different” and when I asked him why, he said the other kids didn’t want to play with him because he was different.
“On the third day he asked what mlungu means and I told him it means a little white boy. It’s what all the other kids kept calling him. On the fourth day he was upset and crying and saying he didn’t want to go to school.”
When her son’s distress escalated, De Jager said she discussed the situation with his teacher last week who confirmed children were not playing with him.
“He was crying every morning so I took him out and did not send him to school on Tuesday. I don’t want him emotionally destroyed,” she said.
Fighting back tears, De Jager said she was now back to square one because she had nowhere to send her boy.
Her search for a school began last February when she approached Beaconhurst Primary for an application form but was told it was too early to apply.
“I went there because it is close to my home but they said I should come back in the second term.”
De Jager and her son moved to Cape Town in the interim, but when she was unable to find employment, she returned to East London at the end of July and her search for a school intensified.
One school told her that although it had five places for Grade 1, these were reserved for children who did not pass, while a private school in Gonubie was unaffordable.
“I tried St Anne’s, President Primary, Stirling, Beaconhurst with no luck and then when the schools opened again this year I started phoning Lilyfontein, Hudson Primary, Cambridge, Beaconhurst.
“I even went as far as Kidd’s Beach, Chintsa and a school in Vergenoeg. I phoned some schools more than once and my friends and mother-in-law were also phoning. They all said sorry, they are full.”
De Jager said she continued to contact schools while her son was enrolled at the Centre for Excellence and although Laerskool Grens agreed to accept him, his Afrikaans was not up to scratch.
“Now he is staying at home with his granny who will teach him, but she is not a healthy person. Also, I want him to have interaction with other kids.
“I think I may dress him in his grey school shorts and white shirt and take him round to schools and see what they say then.”
Education department spokesman Loyiso Pulumani said the lack of space in Grade R, Grade 1 and Grade 8 in city schools was “a huge problem”.
He said the department had “pleaded” with some schools to enrol extra children by offering them the incentive of an additional teacher and classroom.
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