The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education online enrollment system for Form 1 places is facing yet another flaw as it forbids the former Grade 7 students to apply more than 3 times, TechnoMag has learnt.
Glitch or probably no glitch, with this system which failed to take off upon going live, students and parents have detested this system for disallowing more than three applications
“You know getting a boarding place is a gamble. It involves many variables such as school fees, location and other stuff. I wanted to try 10 boarding schools but i was restricted to only three which is not good for my child. The chance is slim,” said a parent who requested anonymity.
“We are in the festive season and back then (manually) to avoid last minute hassles, we knew before Christmas that our child or children had been accepted. But now we have to wait till the system relays our information to schools for acceptance which might take some time,” said another parent Mr Munesu.
Concerned about the school, he added,”For the schools they usually enroll students before Christmas but now they are being put under unnecessary pressure to hurriedly give successful students places. ”
The form one boarding enrolment for 2017 is in chaos following Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Lazarus Dokora’s directive for parents to apply for places online only.
Parents and teachers say the decision has left them confused about their next step as some schools had already recruited students using Grade Seven results and entrance tests.
Dr Dokora introduced the system, dubbed electronic Ministry Application Platform (eMAP), last week to curb corruption during the enrolment of Form One students. “For those requiring boarding places, please note that there are only 24 000 boarding places. No parent or guardian should have unrealistic expectations for the placement of their dependent child into boarding school,” he said then. “It is for this reason that all prospective boarding learners with a clearance letter from their last school will use the eMAP application system.” Through this system, Dr Dokora said, parents will electronically apply for places to three schools of their choice with the replies expected within three days. He said the application process shall be conducted on December 16, 2016. However, while the transition to e-enrolment has been applauded as progressive, stakeholders say the timing is causing unprecedented confusion. “You get to wonder why Government is only making this announcement now that we are looking for places for our children,” said a parent who was last week turned away from a boarding school in Marondera. “They had the whole year to make these changes and teach parents about it but they want to introduce it at a time when there is pressure and panic. What if the system fails?”