Western Cape government says legal action unnecessary, all learners finally placed in schools

Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier says legal action taken against his department to resolve cases of unplaced learners could have been easily resolved out of court.

He also said that most previously unplaced learners had now found places in schools.

Maynier was reacting to a joint statement issued by Equal Education (EE) and the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) on Tuesday in the wake of a Western Cape High Court order on Friday 17 May. The Western Cape government was ordered to find spaces in schools for learners who remained unplaced in this academic year.

EE and the EELC filed papers in April against the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and the national Department of Basic Education (DBE).

Read more in Daily Maverick: Western Cape Education Department strives to place 2,500+ learners as new school year begins

Maynier said the matter could have been resolved through engagement with the WCED.

“Most of the learners named in Equal Education’s initial application were placed, or were in the process of being placed, at the time of their application,” he said.

Where EE included additional names through their court papers, Maynier said they had moved quickly to resolve the new cases.

“We remain committed to providing quality education to all learners, and we are working hard to build more schools faster than ever before to expand access to education in the Western Cape.”

In the EE and EELC statement, the applicants said the court ordered the WCED to place all learners who — on their own or through their parents or guardians — had applied to a school in Cape Town’s Metro East Education District (Meed), or approached the Meed or a school for placement for the 2024 school year.

“The court has ordered that the WCED must place these learners, who have sadly missed close to two terms of schooling, within 10 days of its order,” they said.

All unplaced learners in the Meed, the applicants stated, will finally be admitted to school as a result of this court order.

“This order symbolises a hard-won victory by EE, the five parents/caregivers (co-applicants) and their children who were represented by the EELC, as well as a number of similarly placed learners.

“This is a victory within a system that has sadly left many learners waiting for school places, without any clear plan or timelines — often well into the school year.”

‘Placement’ interpretation

The WCED, the applicants stated, had been avoiding its obligation to meaningfully place learners by counting them as “placed” once they received an automatic notification of placement through its online system.

This, they said, was despite the fact that many learners, parents and caregivers with whom EE and the EELC engaged either did not receive the notification or were turned away by schools, and, as a result, had been waiting for months at home to be enrolled in a school.

“Significantly, the High Court has now given a definition for the term ‘placement’ and has ordered the WCED to ensure that learners are formally enrolled, have received placement letters, and that they may physically attend an appropriate school (or education facility, where applicable). This order is aimed at ensuring that all learners are meaningfully placed and that their right to education is finally realised.”

Learner placement in the Western Cape, they said, has been a long-standing systemic issue that the WCED fails to adequately plan for year after year.

“It is our joint hope that this order, which was as a result of urgent proceedings brought on 11 April 2024 against the Western Cape government and the DBE for the immediate placement of unplaced learners in schools in the Western Cape’s Meed, will play a crucial part in continuing to address this admissions crisis.”

Catch-up and remedial plans denied

This was the first part of their application, in which they also sought an order for catch-up and remedial plans for these learners, in particular for those placed in March or later, in an attempt to ensure they meet the academic requirements for 2024.

“Unfortunately, these orders have been refused as the WCED indicated that assessments would be done by schools ‘in the ordinary course’ and that they would meet their legislative obligations — an undertaking which the court accepted and which we will actively be monitoring.

“We hope that the WCED will honour its own policies by ensuring that learners are provided with adequate support for the learning losses.”

The second part of their application will proceed on a semi-urgent basis. A date for the hearing has not yet been set.

“It focuses on the WCED’s policy failure to address late applications and the extent to which it unfairly discriminates against late applicants based on race, poverty level, place of birth and social origin.”

It also seeks an order declaring unconstitutional the WCED’s alleged failure to timeously place late applicants in schools, and that the WCED’s admission policy and some of the circulars should therefore be set aside.

“Our work towards ensuring that the right to basic education is indeed enjoyed by ‘everyone’, continues. The right to education is not and should not be a numbers game, but rather the prioritisation of access to ALL,” the statement reads.

It continued: “EE and the EELC will monitor the implementation of this court order and ensure that affected learners are meaningfully placed and able to access education. We remain resolute in ensuring the rights of every learner in the Western Cape are protected.”

The WCED said the outcomes of this year’s admissions applications will only be available to parents from 30 May.

“[So] we don’t have ‘unplaced learners’ for the current year at present,” the department said. DM