There Is No Shortage Of Form One Places - Ndoro
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has reassured parents and guardians that there are adequate Form One places to absorb all pupils that wrote the Grade Seven public examinations this year.
This comes as parents and guardians across the country have started scrambling for Form One places for their children ahead of the 2023 First Term.
Those seeking boarding school places are applying online while parents that intend to enroll their children as day schoolers are physically visiting the schools.
Primary and Secondary Education Ministry communication and advocacy director Taungana Ndoro told State media that there is no shortage of Form One places in the country. He said:
We don’t have a crisis in terms of Form One places. We have more than enough schools for Form One places, particularly day schools. No learner will fail to get a Form One place for 2023.
He said parents and guardians were creating an artificial shortage of Form One places by bypassing schools in their neighbourhoods and targetting certain schools said to be producing good results. Said Ndoro:
For instance, you might have a parent living in Nketa suburb but wants his or her child enrolled at a school in Barham Green suburb which is said to be good.
The onus is on the parents to improve the standards of local schools so that at the end of the day the schools offer quality education.
Ndoro noted that the country does not have enough boarding schools to absorb all learners seeking places. He said:
Pupils with six to nine units do not struggle to get enrolled even at boarding schools but those with lower grades find it difficult as priority is given to those with good grades.
He urged parents and guardians to be involved in the educational progression of their children from the Early Childhood Development (ECD) level until they reach high school. | Chronicle
