Parents seeking enrolment for their children in urban schools are facing a stressful process, with many alleging that schools are already full and prioritising learners with excellent or very good academic results.
The situation is affecting parents whose children are going to Grades 8 and 11 in two weeks’ time following the release of their external examination results by the Examination Council of Eswatini (ECESWA) last year.
Some parents who visited schools seeking spaces on Monday said their children submitted application forms to several schools and were later called for interviews. However, it later turned out that they were unsuccessful, thus they continued looking for Grade 8 spaces.
The parents said this left them frustrated as they expected to seek spaces only after results were issued—a nightmare given the demand and long queues that usually form before schools open in January. This is the period when many parents look for placements for their children.
Some schools are reported to have already reached capacity after conducting interviews last year, including St Mark’s High School, St Michael’s High School, Manzini Central High School, St Francis High School, and Salesian High School.
Parental Experiences
Sandziso Kunene, whose child attended an interview at St Mark’s High School last year, said her daughter was unsuccessful. She explained that they returned to the school on Monday, hoping a space might become available, but were again disappointed as priority was given to learners with excellent grades.
“They asked for the learners’ results and admitted those with excellent marks. My child’s results were handed back to me as she was in the good category. We were advised to try another school or return on Wednesday after registration was completed,” she said.
Another parent, Velaphi Dlamini, said she had not lost hope and would continue visiting the school, as her two children had both written interviews last year.
“I hope the school will consider that they wrote the interviews and also apply the first-come, first-served principle. It is not fair for schools to discriminate in this manner. Not every child will obtain excellent or very good grades, so schools should balance academic performance with fairness,” she said.
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However, some parents were fortunate to secure places for their children on Monday at the same school.
At St Mark’s High School, pupils who passed the interviews were registered on the same day and received stationery. A similar process was observed at St Francis High School, where some of the pupils also received their school uniforms.
School Response
St Mark’s High School Headteacher Khanyisile Dlamini said the school was currently registering Grade 8 learners who had written interviews last year and had received provisional acceptance letters.
“These learners are now receiving their stationery in preparation for the schools opening. If more spaces become available, we will fill them after the scheduled registration days, which are Monday and Wednesday,” she said.
KaBoyce High School Deputy Headteacher Nathi Nkambule said parents were still submitting application forms at the school gate, which were being reviewed by the admissions team. He added that the school was practicing fairness in their admission, as they were admitting those with good, very good, and excellent grades.
“We are selecting learners based on subject performance, qualities, and available space. For Grade 8, we require a maximum of 135 learners and cannot exceed this number. We normally finalise admissions before schools open to ensure effective learning,” he said.
Ministry Guidance
Meanwhile, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Training Naniki Mnisi emphasised that parents should not waste weeks searching for school placements. She called on headteachers to admit all pupils who had passed their examinations. She also urged support for the 4,000 pupils who obtained insufficient grades.
