Gauteng online applications postponed

The system was set to go live on Monday but parents will now only be able to apply from May 20.  

This follows threats by several school governing bodies to block the system from going live.

The Federation of Associations of Governing Bodies of South African (Fedsas), as well as the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysunie (SAOU), and Afriforum raised concerns about feeder zones that are used by the department.

Lesufi says the groups also raised concerns about language preference.

"They emphasised that this process does not protect cultural language and people who want to be taught in their mother tongue.”

"It is clear that people sat in the same boardroom and connived to object to similar issues and to hold the province at ransom.

"The reasons are simple - they feel threatened that we are now opening schools to all our children and they feel threatened that these schools have to be shared by everyone.

"As a department, we felt that we must not give room to people who want to destabilise, but the mere fact that they threatened to go to the High Court and want us to postpone by a week to put their arguments on the table - I advised the HOD that we should accommodate that and not be seen as people unwilling to negotiate.”

Lesufi has apologised to those parents who were ready to go to the system on Monday.

He also reiterated that there is no language that is under threat.

"There is no one that will be denied to right to be taught in the language that they prefer.

"But there will be no school that will close out other children because they feel that their language is more important.”