School year off to a good start
Several high ranking government officials conducted visits to schools throughout Zululand, King Cetshwayo and uMkhanyakude districts to assess the state of readiness
FOR most learners and parents in Zululand, the start of the 2017 school year went off without major incident on Wednesday.
Issues were limited to some overcrowding and parents failing to find spaces for their children.
A small number of primary and high schools were forced to turn away learners. .
While no exact figures on the shortfall of spots were available at the time of going to print, schools were hoping to find a solution for the learners over the next few days.
Historical challenges such as failure of timeous stationery delivery was not a factor as the KZN Department of Basic Education had ensured deliveries were made as early as October last year principals said.
A number of learners in eSikhaweni did not arrive on time for school owing to a shortage of transport, with some parents believing taxi drivers had ‘forgotten’ schools were opening.
Oversight
Meanwhile, several high ranking government officials conducted visits to schools throughout Zululand, King Cetshwayo and uMkhanyakude districts to assess the state of readiness.
‘So far all reports are positive, and all schools in KZN have started the academic year without major problems,’ said chairperson of the KZN portfolio committee on education, Linda Hlongwa-Madlaldla.
‘So far I have received several calls from team leaders around the province saying all is well.
‘We are seeing reduced queues of parents and children waiting at schools to gain admission and we are excited and grateful as a portfolio committee that people have heeded the call to prepare for the academic year prior to its commencement.
‘We are happy that parents are buying school uniforms on time and even registering their children up to a year in advance.
‘We are looking forward to an excellent year where learners will excel and we wish them all the very best for 2017,’ Madladla concluded.
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