Parents of Victoria Primary (VPS) learners who reacted in shock when their children were not admitted to Victoria Girls' High (VGHS) have lashed out at the school, accusing it of discrimination after it refused to accept at least eight pupils from VPS this year.
Parents of Victoria Primary (VPS) learners who reacted in shock when their children were not admitted to Victoria Girls' High (VGHS) have lashed out at the school, accusing it of discrimination after it refused to accept at least eight pupils from VPS this year.
The parents, who spoke to Grocott's Mail on condition of anonymity to protect their children, said they were disappointed. "VPS is a feeder school to VGHS," one of the parents said. For this reason they believed pupils from the former should be given preference over those from other schools.
VGHS principal Warren Schmidt confirmed in an emailed response this week that eight pupils from VPS were not offered places at his school this year, adding that this was not the first year pupils from that school had not been accepted at VG.
Schmidt emphasised that VPS and VGHS were two separate schools. "Being a learner at Victoria Primary does not automatically mean that said learner will be given a place at VGHS and this has been the case for a number of years," he wrote in the email.
He then quoted from the VGHS admissions policy: "In the event that after the application of the criteria applicants are equal, preference will be given to learners from Victoria Primary".
Schmidt said their policy also considered sisters of present learners, daughters and sisters of alumni and "Learners disadvantaged as a result of unfair discrimination in the past".
However, this did not sit well with the affected parents, who said they had scrambled to find places for their children at other high schools.
In some cases they'd had to resort to schools in other towns. One parent said her child's application had been rejected on the basis of previous poor performance.
She said she'd been told that the high school and primary school were separate institutions and that she needed to apply for admission to VG.
"She was called for interviews, but no white children were called to the interviews. Only children from other schools and a few coloured children were there," she said, implying that the school had a racial bias.
Put to him by this reporter, Schmidt flatly denied this suggestion, saying, "That is untrue. I invite you to take a tour of VG with me sometime, as our diversity reflects the reality of South Africa and is something we see as a primary strength of our wonderful school.
"I think it sad that the disappointed parent should make this a matter of race. Last year we did not accept white VP learners, so race is irrelevant in our selection process," Schmidt said.
Schmidt went on to say that he found hard to believe the mother's position that news of the child's poor performance had come as a shock.
"Victoria Primary is an excellent school and they report back to parents regularly. I think the parent may be being over-simplistic [in claiming]that 'poor performance' is to blame for his/her child not getting into VGHS."
The mother claimed she'd never been called to the school to discuss her child's poor performance.
The parents said they were given numerous reasons for the rejection of their applications to VGHS.
These included the fact that the children did not meet the required levels, that there was not enough space and that there was a long waiting list.
However, Schmidt says they had met with the VP Grade 7 parents prior to their applying to high school, to explain the admissions process they would need to follow.
"VP also constantly reinforces the idea that if their girls do not work or improve their behaviour, they may struggle to get a place at VGHS," Schmidt said.
"Our admissions policy (which all parents get as part of their pack) includes the following quite clearly: Learners from all schools, including Victoria Primary School, need to apply for entrance to Victoria Girls' High School," Schmidt wrote.
Two parents said they had taken their cases to the education department, but nothing had come of it.
Responding to questions, Grahamstown district education director Amos Fetsha said VPS was a feeder school to VGHS.
He said his department's policy indicated that the interview process was designed to help the school better understand the learners' shortcomings and not as a basis to accept or reject their applications.
"No school should deny a child admission based on an interview," Fetsha said.
Responding to this Schmidt said, "I agree with Mr Fetsha. We would never base a decision purely on the interview of a candidate. There are many other aspects to consider, including the behavioural report of the learner's current principal; the learner's academic reports for Grade 7; the degree of participation by the learner in academic, sporting and cultural activities; etc."
