BY PHUMZILE NDLOVU
MBABANE– Is there still space available for students at schools? This is the topical question in light of schools opening in two weeks.
It is worth mentioning that for this academic year, public schools will open on January 23, while some private schools will open next week on Wednesday.
When reached for comment, President of Eswatini Principles Associations (EPA) Welcome Mhlanga shared with this publication that they don’t have a list of schools that still have spaces for admission. “What we can advise parents is to go to the different schools to inquire if there is still space left for admission. They can also call the head teachers to check if there is still any space left in schools of interest.”
Mhlanga went on to share that as an association, they don’t yet have that data to give out to the public or assist them on which places they can still look for available spaces for their children. “Parents should communicate with different schools, especially the ones that have not put up notices that they don’t have spaces anymore, and try their luck there. It’s only head teachers who have that knowledge for now.” said the president.
Ministry of Education and Training Communications Officer Gugu Masuku also echoed Mhlanga’s words that they don’t have a database on which schools still have spaces, but rather parents need to go to the schools to inquire.
The Ministry of Public Service recognised the Eswatini Principals Association (EPA) as a fully-fledged union representing the interests of school administrators, including principals and their deputies, two years ago. All along, EPA has had a provisional recognition agreement with the government and now has a full recognition agreement.
It is worth mentioning that the results of Form III and Grade 7 were released two weeks ago. The Hhohho region took the lead in this year’s Junior Certificate (JC) results which were announced by the Minister of Education and Training Owen Nxumalo. The announcement took place at a press conference called by the ministry. Manzini region took the second position, followed by Lubombo and Shiselweni respectively. The announcement took place at a press conference called by the ministry. The Manzini region took the second position, followed by Lubombo and Shiselweni, respectively. Manzini topped other regions in the 2023 Eswatini Primary Certificate (EPC) with a 94.11% score, followed by Shiselweni.
