Parents and guardians in Gauteng are being advised to apply early in order to avoid the last-minute and late application processes for their children’s Grade 1 and Grade 8 school placements in 2023. The 2023 online admissions process for Grades 1 and 8 at the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) will start today (Friday) at 8 a.m. and end on August 19 at 12 a.m.
Parents and guardians in previous years encountered a number of systemic issues that disappointed parents who wished to secure a spot for their children in their favorite schools. Panyaza Lesufi, the MEC for Gauteng Education, stated yesterday (Thurs) that the system has been modified as a result of interactions with parents and stakeholders, and it can now accommodate close to 40 000 individuals at once. For the 2022 academic year, a total of 146 835 Grade 1 student were enrolled in Gauteng public schools, and about 201 543 students were successfully placed in Grade 8.
“Last year we had two separate applications for Grade 1 and 8, but this year all the applications will go through a single process. All parents have to apply at the same time for both Grade 1 and 8,” Lesufi said.
The department emphasized that no student already enrolled in Grade R at a school or ECD center will be automatically admitted to Grade 1 without first submitting an online application. The MEC reminded parents to apply using a single trustworthy phone on the GDE online admissions system because every step of the application process would be verified and confirmed via SMS.
“Some parents change their numbers frequently and that creates problems for us when we want to communicate with them,” Lesufi said. The MEC noted that the system would permit parents to apply for an additional two schools if they so desired. This year, parents and guardians have been given the opportunity to register for at least three schools.
“There are some schools where the demand is too high so some parents don’t want to just rely on that particular school. They want to try other schools,” MEC said. No school will close during the application time all schools will be open and available for applications during the application period.
“Previously, if a school reached a certain number of places, we would blacken that school so that we didn’t have people applying to a school that is already full. But schools raised concerns with us that sometimes people who apply don’t qualify and if you blacken it out, you find that the school stands empty because the majority of people don’t qualify,” Said Mr Lesufi
The placement will depend on admissions standards and space availability in accordance with school capacity. The MEC maintained that the language aspect of the system had also improved because applicants would now have the chance to choose wisely among the available languages when applying to a school. Each school’s additional language offerings, home language, and language of instruction will all be displayed on the system.
Parents who submit applications to specialized schools must make sure to get in touch with the institution to schedule the auditions or admissions tests. Parents must first confirm their admittance into the residential facilities before applying for residence at boarding schools in Gauteng. They must still submit an online application for admission to the schools. Parents have seven school days to receive placement offers throughout the period that runs from October 3 to October 31.
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