Thousands of Gauteng learners still not placed on first day of school
As the bells ring to start the 2017 academic year, some 40 000 learners in Gauteng still do not have a spot in a classroom.
Parents have been trying to get their children placed, amid a struggle for space at schools in the province.
"My child is frustrated, because he wants to go to school. I told him yesterday that there is nothing that I can do and he cried," says the mother of a Grade 4 learner.
"Other children are now gone. They are wearing their uniforms and looking so nice and beautiful ready to start school. My child is sleeping at school," says another mother.
The Gauteng Education Department's Oupa bodibe is urging parents to go to district offices - and not to schools - for help with placement.
"Regardless of how much you appeal or object, it is impossible to place a child in a school of your choice," says Oupa.