Umamah Bakharia

The Gauteng Education Department is all set to open up its online admissions from Grade 1 to Grade 8 for public schools on 22 July.

“We sure that we are ready,” says Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi at a media briefing held in Kensington.

The department outlined a 5 step video tutorial that shows the user how to apply to the specific schools.

“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,” says the GDE.

Addressing the overcrowding in schools, Lesufi says, the department has spent R24 million for the development of new schools. While the department adds that 1 176 new classrooms have been built in the province.

“We rather have more kids in the classroom but atleast they are in the schooling environment,” says Lesufi.

The department has urged parents and guardians to apply online to secure their child’s space at a Gauteng public school in 2023.

It says after applying, applicants will receive SMS notifications of placement offers, to either accept or decline, from 3 to 31 October.

“Hackers will not be able to penetrate through,” reassures Lesufi.