Gauteng public school placements to begin on Monday

The Gauteng Department of Education has announced that public school placements for grade 1 and grade 8 pupils will commence on 16 September 16.

This clarification came in response to a concerned parent who questioned the delay in placements, as the admissions calendar indicated that placements should have started on 4 September.

“The admissions calendar says placement started 04/09 should one be worried if they haven’t received an sms by now?” probed Kebafilwe on social media platform X.

The admissions calendar says placement started 04/09 should one be worried if they haven’t received an sms by now?

— Keba🌸 (@kebafilwe_) September 10, 2024

Challenges with online admission system

The 2025 academic year online admission application period opened on 11 July and closed on 21 August at midnight after being given a seven-day extension period.

The first day of enrolment for grade 1 and grade 8 in Gauteng was stress-free for some parents; however, it was not smooth sailing as there were several reports of the system crashing.

In previous years, parents have faced numerous hurdles when trying to secure a spot for their children in the province’s public schools. From technical glitches to long queues and missing documents, the enrolment process has previously been a stressful and frustrating experience for many.

This year’s period was no different, with the system crashing for two days during the application process. It was for this reason that an extension period was granted.

Gauteng Education Members of the Executive Council  Matome Chiloane acknowledged the complaints from parents about the system being down on 9 and 10 August.

“We were approached by a number of parents who said they were struggling to upload and complete their applications so it was an issue.

“They were able to resolve it by the 10th, but what that meant is that parents had lost two days,” he said in a media briefing.

ALSO READ: Deadline for 2025 Gauteng school placements extended, parents urged to apply

Previous years’ challenges

In previous years, parents have faced numerous hurdles during the enrollment process.

Despite promises made yearly to upgrade the online applications system, thousands of pupils missed the first week of school due to not having a placement.

Earlier this year, 34,000 students missed the first week of school due to placement issues.

Among the challenges, schools were forced to accommodate extra pupils and temporary classrooms were set up to address capacity constraints.

ALSO READ: Thousands of pupils still not placed in schools – Gauteng education department says they will ‘catch up’

Promises of improvement

When parents protested outside the district offices in Ekurhuleni in January, Chiloane promised an “improved” online system for next year.

He said because these placement problems are regular problems, they knew how to deal with these issues.

However, with the current applications not going as smoothly as promised, parents will have to wait and brace themselves in preparation for how the upcoming placement process will unfold.