Johannesburg - The Gauteng department of education (GDE) on Monday, said that 144,124 online applications had been received for admissions in 2019.
The GDE launched the 2019 online admissions at the Atteridgeville community hall on Monday.
"The Gauteng department of education is pleased with day one of online admissions for Grade 1 and 8. By 3.15pm, the department had received 144,124 successful applications," the department said.
"The system is efficient in handling a large volume of applications. Within the first 10 minutes, we had received over 10,000 successful applications."
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The GDE said they had identified a few challenges since the launch which included parents entering home and work addresses incorrectly, delays with sending waiting list numbers and web operating systems.
"With regards to the addresses, we appeal to parents to first select their municipality, then select the town (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Randburg etc), thereafter, parents can select the township or suburb in which they live. When you follow this procedure, you should not have a problem with finding your street address."
The department urged parents to make use of Google Chrome, as their site was linked to Google Maps and made it easier with regards to the addresses.
"Google Chrome is faster and most compatible with the online application system. We are experiencing delays with regards to the waiting list numbers; however, our partner, Vodacom is assisting in this regard."
The GDE reiterated that the online application system was the future.
"It provides a fair and equitable opportunity for parents to apply at public schools. We are very humbled by the support and response from parents," said MEC Panyaza Lesufi.
Parents have until midnight on 28 May 2018 to make their applications.
"Any parent who lacks access to the internet or requires face-to-face assistance should visit one of the decentralised application centres or a community library," the GDE said.
They added that parents needed to apply on time to avoid disappointments.