Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi announced that online admissions for Grade One and Eight for the 2023 academic year will start on July 22.
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has reviewed the online system, as well as the previous two-phased approach. After an analysis of various online parent surveys and stakeholder consultations, the system is following a single application process, allowing applicants to apply at the same time during the application period.
The application period will start on July 2 at 08:00 for Grade One and Grade Eight applications, and it will close on August 19 at 00:00. To apply, visit www.gdeadmissions.gov.za. Parents and guardians will receive SMS notifications of placement offers to either accept or decline from October 3 to 31.
The Grade R learners will not automatically be accepted to Grade One without application, even if they apply to the schools where they are currently enrolled. This means that learners that are five years old and turning six by June 30 in 2023 currently enrolled in Grade R in a school or ECD centre, as well as learners that are not in any type of school, must apply for admission at a minimum of three and a maximum of five schools.
GDE urges parents and guardians to upload or submit certified copies of these documents within seven days of applying: parent and child ID or passport, refugee permit, asylum seeker permit, permanent residence permit, study permit, South African birth certificate, proof of home address, proof of work address, latest school report and clinic card/immunisation report (Grade One only).
Parents and guardians will be given up until August 27 (seven days after the application period ends) to upload or submit their documents. However, documents that are uploaded or submitted after the application period closing date will be considered incomplete applications and will only receive placement at available schools between December 1 and 15.
Upload documents within seven days
To eliminate the risk of overlooking an applicant with uploaded documents during and up to seven days after the end of the application period, schools will receive an auto alert each time new documents are uploaded. The system will highlight all uploaded documents for verification.
To hold schools accountable for the verification of all received documents, the system will prompt schools to answer the question of whether an applicant submitted documents or not. If verified, the system will prompt the school to verify and update the document status. If not verified, the system will create an alert on the parent’s profile and an SMS will be sent to the parent to submit or upload documents.
As part of the system enhancement process, applicants will have the opportunity to make informed choices regarding languages offered when applying to a school. Language of learning and teaching, home languages, and additional languages offered by each school will be visible on the system during the application period.
All applicants will be granted an opportunity to apply to a school of their choice, according to the selected application option. This is an improvement as previous complaints stated that schools were not available for certain application options and, as such, all schools will remain open for applications for all during the application period.
For all applicants to submit completed applications, an SMS will be reminding parents and guardians to complete their application, and the same notifications will be created on the parent’s profile on the system. SMS notifications informing applicants whether their application was successful or unsuccessful will be sent from October 3 to 31. Therefore, applicants must provide one reliable and working cell phone number when applying to receive notifications and complete their application.
Schools of Specialisation applications
Schools of Specialisation will admit learners based on aptitude or talent from May 20 to June 20. Admission tests, written assessments, trials and auditions will also be conducted by Schools of Specialisation for applicants from May 20 to August 26.
The outcome of these tests and trials will be communicated to applicants from June 20 to September 9. Parents who have applied to Schools of Specialisation are urged to accompany their children to these tests and trials to complete the process.
Parents and guardians applying to boarding schools in Gauteng must apply directly at identified schools. Applications to boarding schools will take place from June 1 to August 19.
Placement of applicants with documents uploaded/delivered within the regulated period will be prioritised and be conducted as per the following admission regulations: home address within feeder zone, siblings, work address, within 30 km radius and beyond a 30km radius.
To ensure access for applicants who are unable to apply from their homes and or offices, the department has identified decentralised walk-in centres in different areas where applicants will be safely assisted. In addition, some district offices and the head office will serve as walk-in centres. This information will be made available via schools, districts, the GDE website and social media platforms.
Parents and guardians who will be experiencing challenges during the application period are encouraged to visit the district offices and decentralised walk-in centres or call the GDE’s contact centre 0800 000 789.
“Dear parents and guardians, if your child will be seeking space at a school in Gauteng for Grade One or Eight in 2023, make sure you diarise the announced dates as they are very important. Officials incorporated inputs from our stakeholders on how to improve the system. We are hopeful that these implemented enhancements will be helpful to applicants. We must reiterate that capacity remains our challenge in Gauteng and a factor that applicants must always bear in mind when applying,” said MEC Lesufi.
