KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, has welcomed the smooth start to the 2023 academic year as over 2.8 million learners across the province went back to school on Wednesday.
Dube-Ncube accompanied Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and Education MEC Mbali Frazer on visits to schools in Umlazi, Parlock and La Mercy to monitor the first day of school for coastal areas.
Speaking during the school monitoring visits, Dube-Ncube emphasised that quality education is an apex priority for the provincial government and expressed her satisfaction that learning and teaching started in earnest on the first day of the school calendar.
“The minor challenges experienced in some schools are being urgently addressed by the Department of Education. We were very encouraged by the active citizenry demonstrated by the community and members of the governing bodies in the schools we have visited.
“We also commend the dedication shown by educators. As the provincial government, we are fully committed to ensuring access to quality education therefore it is critical that teaching and learning begins from the first day of the school year,” Dube-Ncube said.
The Premier announced that the province will pilot online registration for schools in the province from this year.
This is in a bid to reduce the number of parents waiting in queues to enrol their children and so that all learners are enrolled within the stipulated timeframe.
“The process for admissions for the 2023 academic year started early in 2022 when admissions opened on 1 March 2022 and closed on 30 September 2022. A total of 209 665 learners have been admitted in Grade 1 and 237 987 learners have been admitted in Grade 8,” the department said.