JOHANNESBURG – The Gauteng Department of Education has moved to clarify the issue of a vaccination report needed for prospective Grade 1 learners for the 2022 online admissions applications.
In the online application the department states that one of the documents required as part of the Grade 1 application is a vaccination report.
While this is a yearly requirement for the Grade 1s countrywide, it comes amid South Africa’s Covid-19 vaccination drive.
Department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona, said the “vaccination report” mentioned in the 2022 online admissions presentation does not refer to the Covid-19 vaccination.
Instead, he said, it refers to an immunisation card which is a record of immunisations (inoculations/injections) and growth rate given to mothers when their infant is born and used to monitor the development of the child until they are 5-years-old.
“We are aware of the confusion that might have been caused by using the term ‘vaccination’ instead of ‘immunisation’. Although these terms are related in that they both involve inoculation/injection, we agree that they carry different meanings, especially within the context of the pandemic we are facing.
“We urge parents/guardians who will be applying for their children for Grade 1 in Phase 2 to upload or submit their child’s immunisation card accordingly,” he said.
Online applications for admission at Gauteng public schools for the 2022 academic year will open on Tuesday, August 10.
The documents required for Grade 1 and 8 applications are: 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/vaccination report for Grade 1 only.
The Star