BAD SERVICE FOR GRADE R APPLICATIONS AND ACCEPTANCE !

I am so frustrated with the WCDE!

I app**** for my son for grade R In March 2021, I app**** at 3 schools, as suggested by the department. I app**** ON TIME.

He was not accepted into any of those schools. No reason was given, other than that they do not have space.

With this, I informed the WCED, and asked for their assistance, I suggested two schools closest to our residence, and still no acceptance.

The schools are literally 5 minutes away from our home!

I then enquired directly at all 5 of the schools, to appeal, for them to reconsider the acceptance and to add my son to their waiting list - I wrote motivational letters, we went for an interview, and again, I contacted the WCED, and even the Metro South Education Department, as they suggested.

It is DECEMBER, and he still does not have a school to attend in the new year.

I have sent numerous emails, I have called numerous times, I have enquired online, I involved a political party, and still no assistance!

Of course, the party promised to help, but once voting pols closed, I never heard from them again.

The whole application process itself is so overcomplicated - if you're a FIRST TIME parent, let me warn you - Nobody is going to help you do this!

I don't know if schools are just overpopulated, if there are too few schools to accommodate all of the kids in the province, or if the system is just completely *****ed.

But I am fed up and I am not impressed with the service I have received. This honestly shouldn't be this complicated, especially for GRADE-R!

Education is NOT free - we are PAYING for our children to be educated, and let me tell you, it's not cheap - never mind the fact that school closes at 12pm and then you have to pay extra for aftercare! But still, we get given the cold shoulder, and minimal assistance - and a 2 week delayed, snotty email response to say 'YOU SHOULD BE DOING MORE" in a formal manner. Oh and then a follow-up email, only after you follow up, to say 'YOUR CHILD HAS NOT BEEN ACCEPTED INTO A SCHOOL YET' - Thanks Captain Obvious!

This is exactly what is wrong with South Africa - Education and children's placement in school aren't a priority, and there is no proper support for parents who have never done this before.

This is why we have so many uneducated citizens and so many unruly adults.

I am the breadwinner in my family, If my son does not have a school to attend next year - who is staying at home with him? I can't! So I suggest that the WCED send me a homeschooling teacher to ensure he gets his basic human right to a fair and equal education. BUT THEY PROBABLY WON'T.

This is my LAST appeal to get help - I have had sleepless nights over this and it breaks my heart when my son asks me where his new school is, and I have to lie about it.