Phuti Mosomane
THE Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane has declared Thursday as the opening for online application for the 2025 Online Admissions for Grade 1 and 8.
The period for online application will be opened from this Thursday till 12 August 2024 and Chiloane urges parents to use this period to make sure their children’s applications are in to stand a chance to be admitted in the 2025 Academic Year.
The online application was introduced in the province by current premier Panyaza Lesufi after chaotic queues in schools across the province in last ditch efforts to ensure their children were admitted in schools.
This was done to centralize all applications and do away with the Walk-In centers that were deemed chaotic.
All applications for Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners will be processed through the GDE Online Admissions System. This allows only parents and guardians applying for Grade 1 and Grade 8 to apply.
Further, parents of children that are currently in Grade R should also use this opportunity to also apply online for their children to be admitted to Grade 1.
Since its introduction in 2015, the Gauteng Online Admissions Application System has proven a success and assisting many parents and guardians of Grade 1 and 8 learners with securing a space for their children in schools.
The department said the current system has proven to be much more advanced than the previous manual approach, which led to thousands of parents and guardians camping outside of certain schools especially in high pressure areas for days when seeking placement.
Addressing the media in Midrand on Tuesday, Chiloane said the online system helps the department with immediate access to data and statistics to facilitate a transparent admissions process. It will also assist eliminate long queues at schools during application periods.
“Accordingly, the system has a 100% placement rate of all complete applications submitted online; which recently successfully processed the placement of approximately 400 000 learners ahead of the 2024 Academic Year,” Chiloane said.
To apply, parents and guardians must first register on: www.gdeadmissions.gov.za which will go live on Thursday, 11 July 2024 at 08:00 am for applications.
The department said parents will not be able to access the system before it goes live on 11 July 2024. Chiloane encouraged all parents to register, previous login details will not work.
“Only parents with children going to Grade 1 and/or Grade 8 seeking space at a public school in Gauteng for the 2025 Academic Year will be able to register and apply online. Applications will then close on Monday, 12 August 2024 at 00:00 AM (midnight). No new applications will be accepted once the application period has closed,” he said.
After registering, the system will prompt parents to create login credentials (username and password) which they will use to access the Online Admissions System to view and manage their application details.
Once applicants have gained access to the system, they must begin with the application process and ensure that they complete the five (5) step process. When applying for Grade 1 and/or Grade 8 during the 2025 GDE Online Admissions application process, parents must complete the following 5 Step application process to submit a complete application:
- STEP 1 Register Parent/Guardian Details
- STEP 2 Register Home Address Details
- STEP 3 Register Learner Details
- STEP 4 Apply to a Maximum of Five (5) Schools
- STEP 5 Uploading Documents to System or Submitting Documents at Schools (Within 7 school Days of Applying)
Applicants must ensure that they complete the full 5 step application process, and register one reliable and active cellphone number to receive SMS notifications.
Chiloane said the department will not be responsible for information shared with private entities such as Internet cafés that can be potentially misused.
The MEC rather urged parents and guardians to visit any of the 80 Walk-In Centres set up by the Department for assistance.
Parents are further encouraged to use the home address within school feeder zone application option to see schools with feeder zones that cover their home address
To increase the chances of placement closer to the parent’s home address, parents should select schools with feeder zones that cover the parent’s home address selecting a minimum of three schools and a maximum of 5 schools.
However, parents who select 1 or 2 schools when applying, limit the chances of their children being placed in the instance of those selected schools reaching full capacity.
Selecting more schools increases the chances of being placed and parents cannot make more than one application for one learner to the same school.
Gauteng Education launches 2025 Online Admissions for Grades 1, 8
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