News24.com | Gauteng family tightens purse strings to go to private school after child rejected by 5 public schools

Desperate parents have enrolled their child at Curro after failing to secure a spot at a public school.

• A Gauteng couple tightened their purse strings to afford private schooling for their son after he failed to get a placement at a government school.
• They applied for admission to five different schools.
• If they can't cope, they might have to take out a loan, the child's mother said.

A Gauteng couple that was rejected at five government schools had to settle for Curro at the last minute so that their child didn't sit at home while his peers went to school.

That has, however, come with personal adjustments, such as dropping sports, adjusting to digital learning, and changing some of his religious commitments, such as Quran studies, due to the time his day ends at the private school.

This means they have to look into the other days of the week for their son to continue the religious commitments, which will be a deep reach into their pockets as they have to now consider transport costs.

The family said while they will manage to pay the fees, if they struggle with the payments later, they have no choice but to consider taking out a loan.

Unlike public schools, where negotiations surrounding payment of fees can be discussed, they said things work differently for private schools as they are obligated to pay their fees without fail.

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Inland pupils headed back to school on Wednesday morning. In Gauteng, 290 751 pupils were placed, but 1 394 are still waiting for placements.

The child's father, Boikhutso Seemela, said the required procedures were followed online when applying for a school placement for their son.

They were shocked to find that none of the five schools they applied to offered him a placement.

The child's mother - who asked not to be identified for personal reasons - told News24 on Wednesday that sending her son to Curro was a last resort because they could not bear the thought of their child sitting at home without attending school.

The mother said:

She said she was among the first people to apply the day the online application system opened on 22 July 2022.

The mother said they applied for a placement at Greenside High School, Roosevelt High School, Parktown Boys' High School, Northcliff High School and King Edward VII School.

On 2 January, she found out that her son was accepted at Hyde Park High School, only to find out later that it had reached capacity.

"If my child sits at home for a week and a half, he will be excluded from a lot of things. He won't have friends or would have missed the school camp. How was he going to explain to the other kids what happened? He is a child. He doesn't know [anything]," the woman said.

When her child pleaded with her to find him a class on the first day of school, she knew she had to act fast as a parent.

She said:

Eventually, she took him to Curro.

"They did not give me any hassles; he was registered instantly right then and there." 

Although Curro was not her first choice, she was relieved that she could go back to work on Thursday, knowing her child was at school.

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Meanwhile, another family are blaming themselves for their child's failure to get a placement after they failed to submit supporting documents on time.

They found themselves standing in a queue at Sharonlea Primary School on Wednesday.

Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona said officials would work closely with parents to increase capacity to accommodate unplaced pupils.

Mabona also noted that there were issues for pupils who were not in Grades 1 or 8.

"The district will be in a position to assist them at a later stage," Mabona said.