Local principals say they follow official policy, after a side-swipe by the province's education boss suggested that some schools might be practising "subliminal" forms of exclusion.
Local principals say they follow official policy, after a side-swipe by the province's education boss suggested that some schools might be practising "subliminal" forms of exclusion.
Eastern Cape Province Education Superintendent-General, Advocate Modidima Mannya said in a recent statement, "It has come to my attention that some of our schools in the province are either wilfully, or out of neglect, flouting the official admission policy of the department by qualifying learners into public ordinary schools''.
Public ordinary schools are the government-funded formerly black schools, in townships, and the former white schools, later known as Model C schools. Mannya said what amounted to subliminal forms of exclusion had left a number of parents frustrated and in distress, as they faced "an uncertain future for their children".
Mannya said the right of equal access to basic education and to educational institutions was not only enshrined in the Constitution, but had been embedded in the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996. When Grocott's Mail asked local principals about their admission methods, they said these were consistent with national policy, as set out by the schools act.
"As a school we never use methods designed to exclude pupils. We are guided by the policy of the Department of Education," said Prudence van der Linde, principal at the Good Shepherd Primary School in Huntley Street.
"Our current admission policy was adopted in 2004. It has been in existence for about eight years and there haven't really been any queries."
Commenting on Mannya's statement that tests and interviews to determine suitability for admission were illegal, Van der Linde said that as an English-medium school they had to make sure a prospective pupil would not be disadvantaged by being taught in a language that wasn't their mother tongue.
"What we do is really not interviews per se, but rather an assessment to ascertain that the learner won't be disadvantaged in his or her studies," Van der Linde said. "We make sure the learners have some competence in numeracy, literacy and life skills, and there's no way that's unreasonable at all."
She said what did influence admissions at her school, however, was capacity, as the school could not accommodate everyone. These were issues echoed by Oatlands Preparatory School Principal, Rosaria de la Mare, who said the medium of instruction was crucial.
"As an English-medium school, we have to make sure the learner is not likely to struggle on that basis. As such, we use competence in English as a requirement. But this policy is not rigid, as our role is to help these kids," she said.
De la Mare said limited space also dictated that some would-be pupils would be left out. "We had so much interest for this year's intake: about three places for every one place – that's huge, she said.
Grocott's Mail reported on Oatlands' plans for expansion recently.
Rodney Scheepers, Ntaba Maria Primary principal, said they did not conduct interviews, but had other ways of determining whether a prospective pupil had what it took to study there. "We have to sit down and see if the student can indeed fit in the system. It's not really interviews," he said.
Victoria Primary principal, Colette Kaiser, said the school declined about half the applications it received every year, largely due to space constraints. "Every year we have more applications than we can take," Kaiser said.
Peter Reed, Graeme College principal, said, "Being a school offering education from Grade 1 to Grade 12, we have very few vacancies from one year to the next and it is impossible to accept all of the many applications we receive each year.
"Classes remain oversubscribed and it is necessary for the school to employ additional staff to cover the teaching of full classes."
School admission: what are your child's rights?
According to the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996, in both state and private schools, no child may be refused admission to a school on the basis of race, religion or social class, or for any other reason that amounts to an abuse of one's human rights.
Regarding children who have been refused entry into a school, the national department of education advises parents that if they believe the exclusion is unfair, they should approach their local district education office to ascertain whether the reasons given by the school are valid.
"Government policy is clear on giving children access to state schools. It also supports mother tongue instruction where this is feasible," according to information on the website of the Education and Training Unit, a Section 21 non-profit company that works closely with government departments.
It also says: "Some children have been refused access to certain former Model C schools on the basis that the school is an Afrikaans-medium school and the child does not speak Afrikaans."
In some communities, the English-medium school is full and there are only spaces in the Afrikaans-medium school. Some communities have successfully resolved this matter by entering into negotiations with the governing body of the Afrikaans-medium school.
"As a result of these negotiations the school has become a dual-medium school, where students have the option to learn in either English or Afrikaans."
For more information about your child's rights with respect to education, visit the Education and Training Unit's website, www.etu.org.za
The local district office of the education department is at the corner of St Aidans Avenue and Milner Street. Call them on 046 603 3200/06.
