Making the announcement on Sunday, Lesufi said the new regulations mean that children will not be discriminated against based on where they live.
“Approval of the said regulations implies that our schools will be easily transformed and as such learners will access quality education and be treated the same way and which will also necessitate same opportunities,” said Lesufi.
According to the MEC, the key changes in the regulations are:
Following the approval of the regulations by the Gauteng Legislature, the GDE will gazette the amendments to the admissions regulations.
“The commencement of the amended regulations will be effective from the date of publication. The 2020 admissions process will be conducted under the provisions of the amended admission regulations,” said Lesufi.
The consultative process for the feeder zone determination was accommodative to everyone who participated. The MEC established a feeder zone task team, consisting of officials from GDE and external stakeholders representing Governing Body Associations (NASGB, FEDSAS and GBF); STATSSA; Equal Education; Premiers Office (Spatial Planning); GCRA and the Municipal Demarcation Board participated.
Accordingly, about 2,067 maps were finalised and published. However, about 334 schools contested their proposed feeder zones, and fortunately their concerns were addressed.
“We must emphasise that the adjudicating process was in favour of 90% of schools that contested and recommended adjustments, which were implemented accordingly,” said the MEC.
Lesufi said the remaining 10% of schools misinterpreted their feeder zones, confusing the 30km application radius with the feeder zone determination which was not provided for in terms of the criteria for determining feeder zone. The confusion was swiftly resolved.
During the admissions application process, the said amended regulations are intended to assist learners to access a school, in compliance with the set criteria which is:
Publication of feeder zones dictates that, schools will have to submit their admission policies to the HOD for ratification within 90 days.
However, there will be transitional arrangements for the implementation of revised school policies, this will provide the department with an opportunity to mediate the new requirements with schools on how to draft the new admissions policies.
“Feeder zone determination play a significant role in ensuring that access to our schools is fair, transparent and conducted in an equitable manner.
“Our officials and stakeholders contributed immensely to the successful consultative process and we are excited that all concerns raised during this vigorous process were addressed,” said the MEC.
SAnews.gov.za is a South African government news service, published by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS). SAnews.gov.za (formerly BuaNews) was established to provide quick and easy access to articles and feature stories aimed at keeping the public informed about the implementation of government mandates.
Go to: http://www.sanews.gov.za