Gauteng online admissions for 2023 academic year open in July

Online admissions for Grade One and Grade Eight for the 2023 academic year will commence on July 22.

The Gauteng Department of Education 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 has now been enhanced to follow a single application process.

This will allow all applicants to apply at the same time during the application period.

The application period will start on July 22 at 08:00 for Grade One and Grade Eight applications and will close on August 19 at 00:00.

To apply, visit www.gdeadmissions.gov.za

Parents and guardians will receive SMS notifications of placement offer to either accept or decline from October 3 to 31.

Grade R learners will not automatically be accepted to Grade One without application, even if they apply to the schools at which they are currently enrolled.

This means that all learners that are five and, turning six years old. by June 30, 2023, and are 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.

Also read: Parents demand assistance from GDE

Parents and guardians are urged to upload or submit certified copies of the following 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 until August 26 (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 from December 1 to 15.

To eliminate the risk of overlooking an applicant with uploaded documents by a school, 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 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 parents 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 to applicants 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 received 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 applicants to submit completed applications, electronic messages will be sent via SMS 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.

Applicants must provide one reliable and working cell phone number when applying to receive notifications and complete their application.

Also, note that 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.

Also read: Parents to hear back from GDE before schools open

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 have 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.

Placement will be conducted as per the following admission regulations:
• Home address within feeder zone.
• Siblings.
• Work address.
• Within a 30km radius.
• Beyond a 30km radius.

To ensure access for applicants who are unable to apply from their homes 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 experience challenges during the application period are encouraged to visit district offices and decentralised walk-in centres or call the GDE’s Contact Centre on 0800 000 789.

“If your child will be seeking space at a school in Gauteng for Grade One or Eight in 2023, diarise the announced dates,” said Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi.

“Officials incorporated inputs from our stakeholders on how to improve the system.

“Accordingly, we must reiterate that capacity remains our challenge in Gauteng, and a factor that applicants must always bear in mind when applying.”

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