South Africa Cape Town 24-January -2024- Equal Education March for unplaced learners at Metro East Education District Western Cape Department of Education.Photographer Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers
Cape Town - Equal Education (EE) and the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) have approached the Western Cape High Court over unplaced learners in the province.
Together with five parents, EE, represented by the EELC, launched an urgent court application against the Western Cape Eduction Department (WCED) and the Department of Basic Education for the immediate placement of unplaced learners in the Metro East education district.
EELC attorney Yolisa Piliso said the matter was expected to be heard on Friday due to it being an urgent application.
“We filed this matter on April 11 with the hope that the matter is going to be heard on the 26th, but we have since received difficulties from the side of the Western Cape government to have this matter resolved expeditiously because they informed us they’re having difficulties with finding counsel and all of that,” Piliso said.
“We continue to see parents coming into the law centre wanting support and they want to be assisted with the placement of their children.”
According to the organisations, applicants have raised the issue over the inaccessibility of the online application system, with the majority affected by non-placement being black children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.
“If you look at the issue of late applications, it’s an issue that directly affects a specific group in the Western Cape – communities from low socio-economic backgrounds, disadvantaged communities, people from different provinces relocating to the Western Cape.”
The court application is divided into two parts, part A being urgent and part B semi-urgent.
In part A of the application, the organisations are seeking an order for the placement of all out-of-school late applicant learners in the Western Cape, and remedial and support plans for these learners to ensure that they meet the requirements for 2024.
Part B of the application, it said, focused on the WCED’s policy failure to address late applications and the extent to which it unfairly discriminates against late applicants based on race, poverty level, place of birth, and social origin.
They are also requesting that this be declared unconstitutional.
Education MEC David Maynier said the WCED is opposing the matter and is currently preparing answering papers.
“By the time schools closed last year, we had already placed 99.4% of our applicants for 2024. We then received nearly 4 000 extremely late applications after 1 January 2024, and placed those learners. As new applicants for the current school year relocate during the year, we will assist them,” Maynier said.
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za
Cape Argus