Following two failed attempts by the Gauteng Department of Education’s (GDE) online admission, education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said they are now ready to kick off.
Lesufi made the announcement on 19 April at the headquarters of the department in Johannesburg.
The department’s online admission was delayed by technical glitches but Lesufi has reassured parents that they now have all their ducks in a row. “The best IT minds in the industry are working on this and co-ordinates issues have been sorted,” said Lesufi.
The MEC mentioned that he does not see the system failing again because major banks are also hosted on the same site. “I’m confident that we won’t move to plan C or D,” he said.
Since going live at 2.30pm on 19 April, the department said 5 035 parents had successfully applied for their children.
On the other hand, the DA has called on the MEC to allow manual applications in the interim so as to ensure no further delays. “It is a disgrace that the department has failed to effectively implement the system. MEC Lesufi must explain why the department failed to deliver on its promise,” read a statement released by the party.