Cape Town – Parents must secure their children’s Grade 1 school placements as phase two in the Gauteng Department of Education’s (GDE’s) 2022 online admissions begins today.
“We have outdone ourselves this year, not just as the department, but as stakeholders, as parents and as guardians in having made the new two-phased approach a success so far.
’’We wish every parent and guardian applying under Phase 2 the very best and we assure them that our team will be there to assist them every step of the way,” Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said yesterday.
Phase 2 applications on the 2022 online admissions begin today from 8am and end on October 8. Phase 2 will be for children going into Grade 1 or Grade 8 in the 2022 academic year, but currently not in a public school in Gauteng.
“We are also glad to announce that parents and guardians who were not able to apply on time during Phase 1 for learners in Grade 7 at public schools in Gauteng will be able to apply under Phase 2,” GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona said yesterday.
Parents and guardians applying in Phase 2 have been urged to prepare documentation and ensure that it is all certified and correct.
This includes parent and their child’s IDs or passports, refugee permits, asylum-seeker permits, permanent residence permits, study permits, their South African birth certificate, proof of home address, proof of work address, the child’s latest school report and clinic card or immunisation card for Grade 1 only.
“We urge parents and guardians to upload these documents onto the system or submit them at the school(s) they applied to within seven days of applying ,” Mabona said.
When Phase 1 applications officially closed on September 3, the GDE had recorded a total 351 169 applications.
The DA’s Khume Ramulifho urged all parents and guardians to secure their child’s school placement and ensure that they did not miss a day of schooling next year.
“This is the most critical level of learning as the child will be starting their first stage of academic life at a primary school and everything must be planned properly so that they enjoy the new beginnings.
“In most cases, failure by parents to apply timeously affects both them and their child as they will be frustrated, and will be unable to budget for school uniforms, stationery and scholar transport, not knowing whether their child has secured a place or not,” Ramulifho said.
Ramulifho said parents and guardians had a responsibility to ensure that they protect their children’s right to access to basic education.
“The DA will continue to monitor the online admission process from Grade 1 and 8 to ensure that the process is running smoothly for the benefit of the future of our children, and where there are system glitches, we will inform the department that is tasked with the responsibility to secure school placement for our children,” Ramulifho said.
The Star