GDE placement period extended to December 10

The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has announced that the placement period deadline for the 2022 Online Admissions for Grade One and Grade Eight in Gauteng has been extended to December 10.

November 30 was initially the last day to place learners, but unfortunately, due to the delays in some parents accepting offers, GDE regrets informing parents of the new date.

To date, the department has successfully placed 213 313 (64%) of the 335 091 applications received. The number of unplaced applicants is therefore reduced to 121 778 (Grade One: 43 654 and Grade Eight: 6 459). According to GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona, it must be indicated that the department has received a high volume of applications, which have applied pressure to our school’s capacity to accommodate learners.

“Our officials are working around the clock to manage the demand most of our schools have against the capacity they can accommodate. What we are prioritising mostly at this stage is ensuring learners have space in a school in Gauteng before 2022 begins. We also plead with those who have not yet received an offer to continue checking their application status and accepting available offers of placement by logging into www.gdeadmissions.gov.za, as we will be processing applications and sending out more offers throughout this extended placement period.”

Parents are advised that offers that remain pending for more than seven days will be auto-accepted as placed to avoid further delays.

A parent that does not prefer the offer of placement given, should object by declining the offer online. Objection forms are available online.

According to the department, should a parent remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the objection, they may submit an appeal by declining the objection outcome online. Appeal forms are available online.

Mabona said while the department remains committed to placing all applicants, with or without documents, it must be noted that placement cannot be made without proof of residence (home address).

Applicants who have not yet submitted their proof of residence will be allowed to submit these in due course. Applicants who have missed the deadline to apply to Grade One or Grade Eight for the 2022 academic year will be allowed to apply during the late application period from January 5.

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said: “We profusely apologise to those parents who are still awaiting placement notices. This is mainly because the majority of preferred schools are full and the department is trying hard to expand their capacities. We also call upon those who received offers to either accept or decline the offer, as some parents may accept your declined offer. This will assist us in accelerating placements.”

Also Read: GDE records over 200 000 online applications

Also Read: GDE reduces unplaced learners to 29 862