Gauteng fi nally places all learners!

Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has confirmed that all learners who applied during the 2023 online admissions application period have been placed.

The department said it has been working to increase capacity in high-pressure areas to ensure all learners are placed.

Only 176 grade 8 learners from Tshwane West District still await their placement at a new satellite school in Pretoria North.

“As of Monday, 30th January 2023, only 176 grade 8 learners in Tshwane West [are still] to be placed. This remnant emanates from an initial 223 unplaced learners within our district, [with] 47 learners having since been placed at Amandasig Secondary and are currently attending class on a rotational basis,” said the GDE.

“These 176 unplaced learners will be placed at a new satellite school registered as North Park Secondary School. These learners will start attending class from Monday, 6th February 2023.”

In Ekurhuleni North District, the initial 232 unplaced grade 1 learners in Olifantsfontein were placed in Olifantsfontein Primary School after capacity was increased. The school received 11 additional mobile classrooms, 8 of which are currently being installed.

In Kempton Park, of the initial 501 unplaced grade 8 applicants, 106 were placed at schools with available space.

The remaining 395 learners were placed at a satellite school, New Kempton Park Secondary School. However, parents of unplaced learners in Kempton Park raised safety concerns about the school’s vicinity and are refusing this placement. The department said they will continue engagements with the parents in a meeting with the MEC scheduled for today at 5pm.

In Johannesburg West District, of the initial 434 grade 8 applicants unplaced in Roodepoort, 38 learners were accommodated at schools where capacity was increased.

The remaining 396 learners were accommodated at a satellite school, Robinhood College in Maraisburg, where teaching is expected to commence on Wednesday, February 1.

Gauteng Education MEC, Matome Chiloane said, “The efforts we have undertaken to ensure that all learners are placed are proving [successful], and we will continue with these efforts to place the remaining learners in Tshwane West. We appeal with parents in Kempton Park to accept the placement measures we have developed for their children”

At least 20 families were left homeless and in distress after a fire broke out in Dukathole, an informal settlement in Germiston, Ekurhuleni.

The cause of the blaze in late January is still unknown.

The families lost their belongings, including identity documents, certificates, clothes, furniture, food, and more, and are currently staying with friends, family, and neighbors.

The Gauteng Department of Social Development in Ekurhuleni quickly responded to the disaster, visiting the affected families and conducting assessments to determine the services needed.

The Community Development Practitioner, Phindile Sibuyi, reported that the

Ward Councillors and Disaster Management teams have also visited the area and provided household utilities, such as pots, plates, cups, and more, to the families.

“The Department provided social relief in the form of 20 food parcels and 20 blankets,” said Sibuyi. She added that the department will assist the families further by providing full sets of school uniforms and dignity packs, and helping replace lost ID documents and birth certificates.

“Officials from the Directorate Sustainable Livelihood in Ekurhuleni Region will follow up with the beneficiaries to ensure that they are linked to other sustainable livelihood services and graduate from their challenges,” Sibuyi concluded.