Johannesburg – Three weeks ago, Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane announced that for the 2024 academic year, online admissions for Grades 1 and 8 will open on Thursday, June 15 at 8am and will close at midnight on July 14.
He said the department had improved its online application platform, which would be able to take up to 40 000 applications within a minute.
It was also reported that this new admission process would allow parents and guardians applying for Grades 1 and 8 to apply for both at the same time, and that simultaneous placements would be generated.
However, just a day before the start of the application process, the DA’s Gauteng education spokesperson, Khume Ramulifho, urged parents to waste no time in applying to get their children placed in schools.
He said the DA believed the department had reviewed and tested the system.
“We hope the department has learned from previous experiences and there won’t be any glitches,” Ramulifho said.
This year’s academic calendar was disrupted because thousands of learners were yet to be placed weeks into the start of the year.
He said the party had tried to get the department to open online admissions in April to avoid a similar situation in 2024.
“Earlier this year, the DA demanded that the online admission process be opened in April to give parents and schools time to prepare and ensure all learners are placed. However, the department ignored our call, which will result in thousands of learners not being placed on time and depriving them of their constitutional right to access education,” he said.
He said the Gauteng Department of Education needed to ensure that all learners were placed on time and that the process gave parents a choice about where their children were placed.
“We urge the department to ensure regular communication with parents and guardians until the process is complete. The department must also share centres where those who do not have access to the internet or gadgets will be able to go to apply on time,” Ramulifho said.
The Star