Three days remain before the start of the Grades 1 and 8 Gauteng Online Admissions application session for 2023.
Application submissions will begin on July 22, 2022, at 8:00 a.m., and end on August 19, 2022, at 12:00 a.m., according to the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE).
For 2023 enrollment in a Gauteng public school, the department has asked parents and guardians to apply online at www.gdeadmissions.gov.za.
From 3 to 31 October 2022, following their application, they will receive SMS notifications of placement offers they can accept or reject.
The system has been improved to follow a single application process, allowing all applicants to apply at the same time during the application period, following an examination of several online parent surveys and stakeholder engagements.
The GDE asserted that it thinks everyone will be satisfied with this overall simplified application process.
Important documents to submit
Parents and guardians must upload or submit certified copies of the following documents within 7 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 1 only)
Parents and guardians will be given up until 26 August 2022 – 7 days after application period ends – to upload or submit their documents.
However, the GDE said, documents that are uploaded or submitted after the application period closing date will be considered as incomplete applications and will only receive placement at available schools between 1 – 15 December 2022.
To eliminate the risk of overlooking an applicant with uploaded documents by a school, during and up to 7 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.
“In order to hold schools accountable for verification of all received documents, the system will prompt schools to answer the question whether an applicant submitted documents or not.
“If verified, the system will prompt the school to verify and update document status. If not verified, the system will create an alert on the parent’s profile and an SMS will be sent to parent to submit or upload documents,” the department had said previously.
As part of the system enhancement process, applicants will be afforded 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 we 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,” the GDE said.
For all 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.
The department said that SMS notifications informing applicants whether their application was successful or unsuccessful will be sent from 3 – 31 October 2022.
Therefore, parents are urged to note that it is highly important that applicants provide one reliable and working cellphone number when applying in order to receive notifications and complete their application.
Admission Regulations
The department said the placement of applicants with documents uploaded / delivered within the regulated period will be prioritised.
It must be noted that placement will be conducted as per the following admission regulations:
· Home address within feeder zone
· Siblings
· Work address
· Within 30 km Radius
· Beyond 30km Radius
Decentralised walk-in centres
The agency has designated decentralised walk-in centres in various places where applicants will be safely helped in order to enable access for those who are unable to apply from the comfort of their homes or offices.
Some district offices and the main office will act as walk-in centres, according to the department.
The public will have access to this information through schools, districts, the GDE website, and social media platforms.
“Parents and guardians who experience challenges during the application period are encouraged to visit our district offices and decentralised walk-in centres or call the GDE’s contact centre 0800 000 789.”