School admissions

When getting your child into a school becomes a battle!

A child's first day of school is supposed to be an exciting time for the child and parents, but over the past few years, there has been an increase in parents struggling to place their children into schools, especially in grades 1 and 8, leading to stress and frustration. This results in the child losing out on valuable learning and some missing the entire first quarter. 

There are different reasons why a child may not be able to secure a suitable school placement. For example, parents applying to one school of choice and not having a backup, late applications by parents, a child moving between provinces, an overwhelming demand and limited space and a lack of documentation. Lack of documentation can be caused by various reasons, such as the parent of the child having a blocked identity document, late birth registration or the child being born to parents who are irregular migrants. It is important to note that the majority of children without birth certificates are South African citizens and there have been several cases that have confirmed that children without birth certificates cannot be refused admission into school. The new Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (BELA Act) also states that a child must be allowed to attend school and a school cannot refuse to accept a learner. 

The Constitution states that everyone has the right to a basic education. This right is clear and absolute and failure or refusal to admit a child into a public school is a direct violation of the child's right to a basic education. 

In SA, we have a national Admission Policy for ordinary public schools, each province has its own provincial admissions policy and school governing bodies can create their own and the provincial government has the final decision on placing a learner in the school. It is important to remember the following:

1. A school cannot refuse your child admission or exclude or expel a child, at any grade, if they do not have their birth certificate or identity document.

2. A school cannot retain a child's report card due to fees not being paid.

3. If your child was unsuccessful in getting admission and the reasons from the school are not clear, you can lodge an admission Appeal with the Provincial Department of Education in your respective province.

If you are experiencing any issues regarding public school admission for your child, contact us via DM, call us or visit our nearest Branch for advice.