Western Cape school placement fiasco hits marginalised families

Lester Kiewit interviews Dr Seelan Naidoo, Activist, Researcher and Principal Associate of Public Ethos Consulting.

Listen below.

Naidoo and Lydia Plaatjies assert in a Daily Maverick article that the Western Cape Education Department's inefficient administrative procedures compel desperate families to navigate a convoluted and costly school placement process, leading to a dire predicament for those unable to bear these expenses.

This year, the scarcity of adequate classroom space in the impoverished regions of the Western Cape has disproportionately impacted thousands of predominantly black children.

While most provinces encounter difficulties in placing all students on the first day of school due to tardy submissions, capacity constraints, and high demand for specific schools, the situation in the Western Cape underscores a deeper and more severe crisis characterised by racial inequality, lack of transparency, and administrative injustice, which Naidoo and Plaatjies argue must be brought to public attention.

Naidoo expresses concern over evidence indicating that public schools predominantly attended by white children in the province receive greater resource allocation compared to schools in impoverished areas.

He highlights the availability of funds that could have been utilised for constructing additional classrooms and schools to accommodate children across the province.

However, instead of being invested in education infrastructure, this money was returned to the national fiscus.

"It's a perennial issue, but we must recognise that it's a national issue."

Dr Seelan Naidoo, Activist, Researcher and Principal Associate – Public Ethos Consulting

"Why is it that school capacity in poorer communities have not received the attention that it could have, given the resources that the department had?"

Dr Seelan Naidoo, Activist, Researcher and Principal Associate – Public Ethos Consulting

"This is a long-standing policy issue that we have with this particular department in the Western Cape."

Dr Seelan Naidoo, Activist, Researcher and Principal Associate – Public Ethos Consulting

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