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        <span>Language will not restrict choice of schools, says Gauteng’s Panyaza Lesufi</span>
        
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        <span>‘If the numbers are convincing we will go back to the school to tell them to change their language’</span>
        
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            17 April 2018 - 10:03
            
                <span id="gmail-authors" class="gmail-heading-author">Yoliswa Sobuwa</span>
            
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        <a class="gmail-image" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t1FvFsr_K1nXZcWfzKDi7hEyKVCRTX3W3HmYVEE8I3wxrZ9Qp4oX4TsiANA9VwNqP76OW83GvMbZWuSN4zgbQybYVfABj0=s1200" style="padding-top:66.5333%">
            
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                        Gauteng MEC Panyaza Lesufi. Picture: SOWETAN
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                <p>Gauteng parents can choose which school they want 
their children to attend without being forced to select certain schools 
based on their demographics and language.</p>
<p>This is according to Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi‚ as his 
department processes online applications from the parents of grade 1 and
 8 pupils to be admitted to government schools in the province next 
year.</p><div id="gmail-inarticle_wrapper_div"></div>
<p>Lesufi said even though the 5km radius determining where parents 
could apply for school was enforceable‚ the department was consulting on
 a feeder-zone policy.</p>
            

        

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    <blockquote>He says parents are allowed to apply at five different schools — and at any school regardless of the school’s language policy</blockquote>

    

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                <p>This means if a school near someone’s home is full, they can be referred to another even if it is outside the 5km radius.</p><p>Lesufi
 said parents were allowed to apply at five different schools — and at 
any school regardless of the school’s language policy.</p><p>The use of 
language in schools admission became a contentious issue earlier this 
year‚ with the department taking Hoerskool Overvaal‚ an Afrikaans medium
 school‚ to court for refusing to admit 50 pupils to be taught in 
English.</p><p>"If the numbers are convincing we will go back to the school to tell them to change their language‚" Lesufi said.</p>
            

        

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<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies                     <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone:  (215) 898-7475<br>Fax:  (215) 573-2138                                      <br><br>Email:  <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a>    <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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