Online applications: Dept starts placing learners for next year
Parents who applied to multiple schools can accept offers from up to five schools, giving them flexibility while awaiting other potential placements.
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has officially announced the commencement of the 2025 online admissions placement process for Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners.
The placement started on Monday, September 16 and will continue until all applicants are placed.
MMC for Education Matome Chiloane said parents and guardians who have successfully completed their applications will receive placement offers via SMS notifications.
He said the offers are sent to the cellphone number provided during registration.
“Within seven days of receiving an offer, parents must log on to the GDE admissions portal (www.gdeadmissions.gov.za) to either finalise or provisionally accept the placement offer.”
Chiloane said it’s essential to note that the acceptance of placement offer can’t be reversed, so parents should carefully consider their choices.
“Parents who applied to multiple schools can accept offers from up to five, giving them flexibility while awaiting other potential placements.
“However, when a new offer is accepted, all previous offers are voided.
“If no further offers are made within seven days, it indicates that all other schools applied to have reached capacity, and the learner will remain placed at the last accepted school,” said Chiloane.
He said during the applications window from July 11 to August 14, that 828 364 grades 1 and 8 applications were made.
He said 325 858 were complete and successfully processed, while 19 032 were incomplete and therefore will not be considered until December, when they may be accommodated based on available capacity.
Chiloane said the GDE has capacity for 402 446 for grade 1 and 8 learners .
He said 77 588 remain available for late and incomplete application consideration later in the year.
“Placement offers are determined by specific criteria, with priority given to home address within the school’s feeder zone, sibling in the same school, and work address within the feeder zone.”
He said his department had noted the schools that received applications that far exceeded their capacity.
Among these high-pressure institutions are Laerskool Akasia, which received 1 475 applications for only 240 spots and Hoërskool Langenhoven, which received 3 081 applications for just 300 spots.
The department has also encouraged parents who haven’t received an SMS offer not to panic.
“They can log in to the system at any time to check the status of their application.
“The department has also assisted at the GDE Contact Centre and WhatsApp, ensuring that parents can receive help with logging in, accepting offers, or addressing concerns over forgotten credentials,” said Chiloane.
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