Parents flocked to the new school in an attempt to register their children. Picture: Supplied
PARENTS who went to queue for school places at Kimberley Academy Primary School this week have questioned the “silence” surrounding the opening of the new state-of-the-art institution in Galeshewe.
Many desperate parents flocked to the school with the hope of securing a place for their children after learning about its opening.
A number of those queuing for places were parents whose children were not placed at the school of their choice, as well as those who wished to move their children from private schools in town to closer to home in Galeshewe.
Although the new school only opened its doors on January 17, the Grade R and Grade 1 classes were already full on January 15.
Parents who arrived at the school to queue for places slammed the placement process, stating that the new school was not on the list of schools when they applied for admission online.
The parents wanted to know how much space was available at the school, as well as the process used for placement.
Many of the parents said that they felt forced to select “second- and third-choice” schools out of desperation when they originally applied for school admissions.
The parents demanded answers from officials from the Department of Education’s district office who were at the school to assist the school staff with administration prior to the opening of the school.
One of the officials addressed the parents and explained to them that placement at the new school was done at the district department level, just like any other school.
He clarified that nobody had applied directly to that school for admission.
According to the official, parents only learned upon being contacted by the department that the school would open this week and that their children would be placed there.
He refused to comment on placing more learners in Grade R and Grade 1 and rather advised the parents to “go and wait at home”.
“I cannot guarantee that you will get space for Grade R or 1 in January 2024. All I can advise is for you to write down your name, then go home and wait for the warm bodies to occupy their classes first. We will call you if there is a parent who extracts a child from the school,” he said.
According to the official, the school caters for learners in grades R to 7, with a ratio of 36 learners per class.
“There is only one class per grade,” he said.
The official did, however, urge the parents not to despair and to take their chances of applying for places in grades 2 to 7.
Following media enquiries, the Department of Education had not yet provided any details, including whether the rest of the classes had been filled, by the time of publication.