The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has announced the opening of the 2023 Gauteng schoolsonline registrations for grade one and eight learners, which is set to begin on Friday, 22 July and close on 19 August.
The department has urged parents and guardians to apply online to secure their child’s space at a Gauteng public school in 2023.
It says after applying, applicants will receive SMS notifications of placement offers, to either accept or decline, from 3 to 31 October.
The GDE notes parents and guardians must upload or submit certified copies of the following documents within seven days of applying:
- 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 or immunisation report (grade one only)
Parents and guardians will be given until 26 August to upload or submit their documents.
The GDE says documents that are uploaded or submitted after the application period closing date will be considered as incomplete applications and will only receive placement at available schools between 1 and 15 December.
“To eliminate the risk of overlooking an applicant with uploaded documents by a school, during and up to seven days after the end of the application period, schools will receive an auto alert each time new documents are uploaded. The system will highlight all uploaded documents for verification.
“In order to hold schools accountable for verification of all received documents, the system will prompt schools to answer the question whether an applicant submitted documents or not.
“If verified, the system will prompt the school to verify and update document status. If not verified, the system will create an alert on the parent’s profile and an SMS will be sent to the parent to submit or upload documents,” says the GDE.
As part of the system enhancement process, the department points out applicants will be afforded the opportunity to make informed choices regarding languages offered when applying to a school.
Language of learning and teaching, home languages and additional languages offered by each school will be visible on the system to applicants during the application period, it explains.
“All applicants will be granted an opportunity to apply to a school of their choice, according to the selected application option. This is an improvement, as previous complaints we received stated that schools were not available for certain application options and, as such, all schools will remain open for applications for all during the application period,” the GDE says.
For all applicants to submit completed applications, electronic messages will be sent via SMS reminding parents and guardians to complete their application, and the same notifications will be created on the parent’s profile on the system.
The department notes SMS notifications informing applicants whether their application was successful or unsuccessful will be sent from 3 to 31 October.
“Therefore, parents are urged to note it is highly important that applicants provide one reliable and working cellphone number when applying in order to receive notifications and complete their application.
“For applicants who are unable to apply from their homes or offices, the department has identified decentralised walk-in centres in different areas where applicants will be safely assisted.”
The department adds that some district offices and the head office will serve as walk-in centres.
Parents and guardians who experience challenges during the application period can visit district offices and decentralised walk-in centres, or call the GDE’s contact centre on 0800 000 789.
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