Equal Education has called on the Western Cape government to urgently place all learners who remain out of school before the start of the third quarter, following a Youth Day protest that placed renewed focus on learner admissions, overcrowding and access to education in marginalised communities.
The organisation marched to parliament ahead of Youth Day and handed over a memorandum to Premier Alan Winde and Education MEC David Maynier, demanding that all learners currently without placement be placed by July 20.
The protest was held as South Africa marked 50 years since the 1976 Soweto uprising, with Equal Education saying many Black learners in the Western Cape were still fighting for meaningful access to education, safe classrooms and properly resourced schools.
In its memorandum, dated June 15, Equal Education said that in 1976, more than 2,000 learners from Langa, Nyanga and Gugulethu marched through the streets of Cape Town demanding better education for Black learners.
“Fifty years later, the chickens have come home to roost, and learners from the same marginalised communities are still marching for the same cause,” the organisation said.
Equal Education said that while the province had historically faced school placement pressures at the start of every academic year, many learners from poor and working-class communities continued to experience delays, confusion and barriers when trying to access schools.
“At the beginning of every school year, it has become a norm in the Western Cape that Black learners are kept out of school,” the organisation said.
The memorandum included accounts from learners and parents who said they had struggled to secure placements despite applying to several schools or approaching education officials.
One learner quoted in the memorandum said: “I am 16 years old, and I used to study science subjects in school, and I have applied to six or seven schools by myself…I am now being told that I should get a job. I want to learn, I do not want a job.”
Another parent said her seven-year-old child had been affected by documentation challenges.
“I did not have an ID because of issues with Home Affairs, but I finally have it. However, my child still does not have a birth certificate. When I went to apply at a school, I was told by the principal that he does not accept foreigners at the school. My child has never been in a classroom,” the parent said.
Equal Education’s demands include the placement of all unplaced learners before the third quarter, weekly progress reports, catch-up plans for learners who have missed part of the year, psycho-social support, clearer admissions pathways for learners with special educational needs, and a directive to schools to admit learners regardless of documentation, proof of residence or immigration status.
The organisation also called for an independent inquiry into the systemic causes of non-placement in the province and for an independent ombudsperson to deal with learner admission complaints.
Responding to questions, Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson for Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier, said learner placement was an ongoing process throughout the year because families relocated or submitted late applications.
“At any given time of year, there will be new learners needing placement, as parents relocate from other areas or apply extremely late. Each learner will have unique needs in terms of their grade, language and subject choices. The department assists each of these learners on a case-by-case basis,” Mauchline said.
Asked how many learners currently remained unplaced in June, the department did not provide a fresh total.
The last publicly recorded figures showed that the WCED said on March 3 that 227 Grade R, 1 and 8 learners were still in the process of being placed, with most of them in Grade R. Earlier in the year, the department said 7,540 placements were still in progress on January 7, and this had dropped to 1,870 by February 6.
Mauchline said most of the learners on Equal Education’s list were “extremely late applications”, meaning they applied for the 2026 school year after the academic year had already started.
She said the department had assessed the list submitted by Equal Education and found that it included a range of cases, including learners for whom no application had been received, learners whose parents’ contact details were incorrect, learners already enrolled and attending school, parents who had not accepted placement offers, parents who were uncontactable, learners seeking placement for 2027 instead of 2026, and duplicate names.
“The list has thus been misrepresented by Equal Education. Despite this, places have been offered to learners needing place for 2026 whose parents were contactable,” Mauchline said.
She said a response detailing the placement status of each learner on the list had been sent to Equal Education.
Responding to concerns about undocumented learners, migrant learners, learners without birth certificates and learners with special educational needs being turned away or struggling to access public schools, Mauchline said parents should contact the department urgently.
“We encourage the parents of these learners to urgently contact the department so that we can assist them,” she said.
Equal Education has warned that if no meaningful action is taken, it will escalate its campaign through litigation, renewed protest and national advocacy.
The organisation said its memorandum was not only about the number of learners still waiting for places, but about the long-term impact on children who lose weeks or months of learning time while families try to navigate the admissions system.
Lilita Gcwabe
iol.co.za
