Parents must secure their child’s Grade 1 school placement by applying online from tomorrow

12 September 2021

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is urging all parents and guardians to secure their child’s school placement and ensure that they do not miss a day of schooling by submitting their applications through the online admission system which opens tomorrow, 13 September, for Grade 1 learners of the 2022 academic year.

Parents and guardians must apply for online admission before the closing date on 8 October. This will ensure that their child’s school is secured and that they are placed in their preferred school.

Delays in applying for online admission has had a huge negative impact on the future of our children in that many learners across the province have missed months of schooling.

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 be knowing whether their child has secured a place or not.

Parents who are facing difficulties with their applications and those who do not have internet access should go to their nearest Gauteng Department of Education regional office for assistance with their applications.

We will continue to engage with the department to communicate with the parents to inform them about the progress of their applications and those applications that have been received on time must be prioritised.

We all have a responsibility to ensure that we protect our children’s right to access to basic education, where parents must apply online on time and the department must ensure the placement of all learners.

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.

Issued by Khume Ramulifho, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, 12 September 2021