Gauteng school enrolments: Number of grades 1 and 8 applications so far 

Despite multiple hurdles, the Gauteng Department of Education has announced that over 229,000 applications were successfully submitted on the first day of the 2025 Online Admissions application period for grades one and grade eight.

The online admissions system, which launched on Thursday, received over 70,000 applications within the first hour.

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According to Gauteng Education spokesperson Steve Mabona 79,073 applications were received within the first hour and 229,885 by 4:00 PM.

Of the 229,885 applications processed, 100,291 were for Grade 1 and 129,564 were for Grade 8.

Parents have the option to apply on the department’s admissions website or visit District Offices and Decentralised Walk-in Centres for assistance.

Applications are set to run until 12 August at midnight.

“Applicants are encouraged to either upload certified copies of the required documents onto the system or submit them at the schools they applied to within seven (7) school days,” Mabona advised.

Furthermore, those who may require additional help can contact the Gauteng Department of Education‘s Call Centre at 0800 000 789 or send a message via WhatsApp to 060 891 0361.

‘Monumental achievement’ while system ‘crashes’

While the process was largely stress-free for some parents, others reported several complaints of the system crashing.

Gauteng’s MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture & Recreation, Matome Chiloane on Thursday, led the official launch at the Diepsloot Youth Centre, Soweto, assisting parents and guardians with the application process.

Despite there being numerous complaints about the system “crashing” and being “offline”, Chiloane remained optimistic. He expressed “pride” and called the proceedings of the first day a “monumental achievement”.

“This success reflects the improvements made to the system, which operated smoothly, and the demand for the quality education provided at Gauteng public schools. We are delighted by the positive feedback from parents who completed their applications without issues and reassure others not to panic as the system will be open until 12 August,” he said.

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Hurdles amid enrolment process

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.

While some, including The Citizen‘s staff members, successfully applied for both grade eight and grade one on Thursday, with the entire process taking approximately five to 10 minutes to complete, this was not the experience of many. Some took to social media to complain of the system “crashing” and being “offline”.

Among the issues raised were passwords not resetting, profiles not being registered, and parents not being able to select schools.

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