- The 2025 edition of Gauteng school admissions for Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners begins on 11th July 2024.
- Admissions close on 12th August 2024 at midnight.
- Gauteng Department of Education has stressed that as long as parents apply online and on time, their children are assured to be placed at a school in time for the 2025 academic year.
While the Western Cape 2025 online school admission process is wrapping up, Gauteng has finally announced the start of its own school admission process for learners in grades 1 and 8. Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane was at the Noordwyk Secondary School in Midrand to detail the launch of the system for the 2025 academic year intake.
According to the MEC, the online admissions will open on 11th July 2024 – this week Thursday at 08:00 – and will remain open until 12th August 2024 at midnight. Parents and guardians looking to get new learners into grades 1 and 8 must apply online for school placements on the provincial system.
Even if parents applied for learners on the system last year, they must start a fresh profile this year on the official Gauteng Department of Education website for school admissions.
Placement offers will be sent out via SMS on 16th September 2024, and there will be contingencies in place to ensure that all learners are placed for the 2025 academic year.
This morning, we held a press briefing to outline the process for our 2025 online admissions system for Grade 1 and Grade 8. Applications open on Thursday, 11 July, and all parents of Grade 1 and Grade 8 students are encouraged to apply. Please read the instructions carefully to… pic.twitter.com/XBBcbY9KHh
— Matome Chiloane (@matomekopano) July 9, 2024
Chilaone said that the province’s department of education placed 400 000 learners in the 2024 academic year, and that while the system had teething issues in 2015 the year it launched, but now the system works smoothly.
However, the MEC has stressed that learners and parents must comply with Gauteng online school admissions processes and with time restrictions.
“All the learners that had completed applications for this academic year were placed. All of them,” said the MEC, adding, “All those that complied on time. Those children were placed.”
Chiloane said that this year’s intake started late due to the general elections that took place in May, “which affected our planning” and “post elections we had to set up government.” This year’s admission period started a month later than usual.
He reminded parents that the school choices they make will all be considered as “preferred schools” and your child may be placed at any of them, and not just the first one you chose. Parents should not only choose one school either, as this risks your child not being placed at any if the certain school is full.
They must choose between three and five schools per child.
Finally, like every year, parents will have to upload a number of documents, including:
- “Birth certificate or acceptable proof of birth date,
- Immunization card,
- Transfer card,
- Last report card.”
If you are not a South African citizen you will require:
- “Study/work permit,
- Temporary or permanent residence permit from the South African Department of Home Affairs,
- Evidence to show that there is an application for permission to stay in RSA.”
First-time Gauteng school admissions, such as for Grade R or Grade 1 will additionally require information on:
- “Where other siblings are attending,
- Nearest to the parent’s work address,
- School of choice.”
Unlike in the Western Cape, where the local department of education is promising to place learners at schools no matter what, Chiloane says that the situation in Gauteng will see your child place as long as you apply on time and you apply properly.
Parents with questions can contact the local department’s contact centre, which will be open for extended hours until the cutoff date in August.
[Image – Matome Chiloane on X]
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