Cape Town – The court battle between Equal Education and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) over school admissions continued at the Western Cape High Court.
This week in their response, the WCED confirmed that the unplaced learner registry for this year had been resolved and that there were still instances where learners and their families had relocated to other provinces or cities. The WCED indicated they were continuing to seek legal advice on the matter.
The findings of the first section of the application, which dealt with the placement of seven learners, was made public this week after a ruling in May, which called for a 10-day period within which the learners had to be placed.
The second section deals with the ongoing saga relating to the admissions in the province. This week, WCED announced that registration and admissions for Grade R would be opened on August 1, 2025.
In the court’s findings, it stated via court papers that the applicants, namely, Equal Education Law Clinic (EELC), had sought a mandatory interdict directing the first respondent, the head of department, WCED, to produce an investigative report on the reasons why the unplaced learners were not placed as at the date of the order, and to furnish such a report to them, as well as to the court, within 30 days of the order.
Judge Lister Nuku said that: “An order was made directing the first to third respondents to place the unplaced learners within 10 days from the date of the order.”
EELC, via a response to Weekend Argus, said they would continue to fight for the admission status of unplaced learners to be remedied in the future. “We note the reasons given by Western Cape High Court Judge Nuku on the order granted for Part A of the urgent application, relating to the placement of learners within the
Metro East Education District (MEED) halfway into the school year,” they said. “At the time the court ordered that the WCED place all learners who had applied to a school in the MEED, or had approached the MEED or a school for placement for the 2024 academic year, within 10 days of its order.
“Due to it being an urgent application, the court granted the order and would provide reasons at a later date, which they have provided this week.
“Part B of the application, which will proceed on a semi-urgent basis, will further address the long standing admissions crisis in the Western Cape by looking at the WCED’s policy failure to address, among others, late applications and the extent to which it unfairly discriminates against late applicants based on race, poverty level, place of birth, and social origin.
“The EELC, as movement-centred activist lawyers, are in the process of considering the court’s reasons, together with EE and the affected learners and parents and will issue a joint statement in due course.”
WCED’s Kerry Mauchline said the 2024 unplaced learner saga had been addressed and was receiving attention and they were seeking legal counsel.
“We maintain that this matter could have been resolved through engagement with the WCED.
“Most of the learners named in EE’s initial application were placed, or were in the process of being placed, at the time of their application. Where EE added additional names via their court papers, we moved speedily to resolve the new case. For the 2025 school year, schools are still finalising their placement lists so we don’t have an ‘unplaced’ figure yet. We completed the allocations for unplaced learners quite a while ago already, and we are now busy with the 2025 cycle.
“Again, parents move to a city or province all the time. Parents get transfers or new opportunities with work or decide to live in a different community.
“So, at any given time there could be a request for placement within the school year. (This is) addressed on a case-by-case basis.”
Nonhlahla Matamela, a candidate attorney at Rhodes University Law Clinic, also reviewed the court’s findings and said unplaced learners in the province were an ongoing problem.
“I believe that this report is going to provide an insight on the issues that the WCED may be encountering which is hindering placement specifically in the Metro East Education District and foster accountability.”
Vanessa le Roux, of Parents for Equal Education, agreed and called for full disclosure of the numbers.