The WCED (Western Cape Education Department) says it is ready for the 2023 school year, with 35 872 teachers and 7 578 public service staff returning to schools today to prepare for the arrival of over 1.2 million learners on Wednesday, 18 January 2023.

The Department says 99.2% of Grade 1 and 8 learners have been placed in the Western Cape.

In addition, all top up textbooks ordered by schools were delivered by October 2022, at a cost of R62 million. Stationery supplies to the value of R39 million, furniture to the value of R50 million, and other equipment to the value of R1.6 million were also delivered by December 2022.

WCED Infrastructure update

The Department is currently implementing an unprecedented school infrastructure delivery programme:

• 561 classrooms have already been completed for the first day of school as a result of work continuing through the traditional builders’ holiday, with the remaining classrooms underway to be completed in the coming weeks.
• 212 additional classrooms were completed in time for the opening of the 2022 school year.
• Alternative arrangements have been made to accommodate the learners while the final touches on additional classrooms are completed.
• This includes using alternative rooms within the schools temporarily, such as halls and computer labs, with the teachers that were allocated to the new class in advance of the school year.
• The WCED is also looking at external venues where necessary, and in a small number of cases, schools will implement rotating timetables to ensure that learners can be accommodated.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the WCED Budget

Education MEC David Maynier has appealed to communities to support the Department in delivering the new schools and classrooms needed.

I thank all the officials, government partners, contractors and school staff who are working tirelessly to get the job done. We would also like to thank the residents in the surrounding communities for their support during the construction period.

 

This has been a tremendous group effort and demonstrates just what we can achieve in our province and in our country when everyone is working toward the same goal of providing quality education for all of our children.

WCED Admissions update

As of 14 January 2023, the WCED has resolved 117 844, or 99.2%, of the Grade 1 and Grade 8 placement requests for the 2023 school year, and are in the process of placing 955, or 0.8%, of the Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners for the 2023 school year.

This is an incredible achievement compared to recent years, with our officials and schools having placed 50 844 more Grade 1 and 8 learners than on this date last year. We are in the best possible position to kick off the school year given the high demand for placement.

 

Our officials and schools have done a phenomenal job under extreme pressure to make sure that they find a place for every child. We are leaving no stone unturned in our effort to place every learner, and we will continue to work to finalise placement for all remaining learners.

The Education system remains under severe pressure

Over the past 7 years, on average, 21 000 learners from outside the Western Cape have been registered in our province for the first time each year.

Schools are full, and we are going to struggle to place additional learners for whom extremely late applications are received.

Maynier says the WCED received 25 212 late applications for Grade 1 and 8 (after 15 April 2022) this year, including 272 extremely late applications received after schools closed on 15 December 2022.

We expect to receive many more once schools reopen. It is very difficult to place learners at this extremely late stage, and parents arriving now must be prepared for a delay in the placement of their children.

 

It is for this reason that we continue to urge parents to apply on time for their children. We need to know who will need place and where, so that we can make plans in advance to accommodate them.

• Any parents who have not yet applied for a place for their child must contact their Education District Office immediately.
• They must not queue up outside schools with the expectation of being accepted to their school of choice.
• Schools are full, and while they may be able to assist with completing applications, the district office will assist with placement centrally.

WCED District office details are available HERE.