The Democratic Alliance (DA) demands the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) to urgently make public the list of all registered independent schools in the province to protect parents and learners from falling victim to bogus schools.
The recent shutdown of the New World Institute Carlswald private school in Midrand only confirms the gruesome spike of illegal independent schools in the province.
In the 2022/23 financial year, the department reported that 69 independent schools were closed. The DA conducted numerous oversight inspections at illegally operating independent schools in the province. We discovered that learners are taught a curriculum not aligned with the National Curriculum Statement, Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement, or Independent School Curriculum. This has always created problems when learners change schools.
Please see the list of shutdown schools here.
Children should not experience the inconvenience of cutting short an academic year due to the illegality of a school. The DA believes GDE’s failure to provide sufficient schools and adequate school infrastructure is a core reason why parents seek admission to these illegally operating independent schools.
The DA demands that the Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, must prioritise completing unfinished school infrastructure projects and reopening closed schools in the province.
In addition, the MEC must make public the list of registered independent schools in the province so that parents and guardians can make informed decisions when they choose independent schools for their children.