The Gauteng Department of Education has revealed that it will open 2025 online admissions for grade 1 and grade 8 learners on 11th July 2024. The applications portal will open at 08:00, and this year the department promises that the admissions and applications process will run smoothly.

The online portal will remain open until 12th August 2024, at midnight. Provincial MEC for Education Matome Chiloane said during a presentation on Tuesday that as long as parents complete the applications for their children before that time expires, their children will be placed at schools.

If parents do not complete admissions in that period, they may experience delays in seeing their children admitted by the start of the 2025 academic year.

Choosing the right schools for 2025:

The department has outlined a number of important items that parents and guardians must keep in mind before and during the admissions process.

First, parents must choose a number of schools before applying, minimum three school choices and maximum of five. These should be nearby schools that you are interested in. Chiloane has warned against only choosing one school, as it could mean your child does not find placement in time.

The process of choosing schools in Gauteng can be done on the 2025 online school admissions portal – found here.

You will find Application Options and they are as follows:

• Option 1 – The applicant learner’s place of residence is closest to the school within the feeder zone (your residential area),
• Option 2 – The applicant has a sibling at the school you are applying to OR the school where the applicant learner is currently in Grade 7 is close to the new school you are applying for,
• Option 3 – The place of employment of at least one of the applicant learner’s parents/guardians is within the feeder zone of the school,
• Option 4 – The applicant learner’s place of residence is within a 30km radius of the school,
• Option 5 – The applicant learner’s place of residence is beyond a 30km radius of the school.

How to begin your 2025 online school admission for Gauteng grade 1 and 8 learners:

The process to apply for your children to enter new schools for Grade 1 or Grade 8 in 2025 takes just five steps. It begins with heading to the official website after the commencement date and time.

Then:

• Step 1 – Parents and guardians must register their details on the system. Once details are registered you will receive an SMS on your phone with a Username and Password that the system has made for you,
• Step 2 – With the Username and Password, you will be able to log in to the system and must now register details of your home address (which is the address of the learners),
• Step 3 – Register details of the learner that is applying,
• Step 4 – Apply to a school (see above Application Options),
• Step 5 – After you have applied to your schools of choice, you will receive SMSs with waiting list numbers. The final step is to begin uploading certified copies of documents within seven (7) days of the application.

Documents you will require to complete your 2025 Gauteng online school admissions process:

The final part of the entire process is to upload and submit relevant documents for your children unto the system. These documents will be used by the schools of choice to accept or decline your children.

Importantly, these documents have to be digital copies (scans) of real copies which are certified. You can get documents certified at your local police station free of charge, and all you need are the copies and the originals. These must all be uploaded unto the system within seven days of starting the application.

The following documents must be uploaded (certified digital copies):

• Parent ID/Passport/Refugee permit, Asylum Seeker Permit/Permanent Residence Permit, Study Permit,
• Child SA birth certificate,
• Proof of home address,
• Latest school report (for Grade R or Grade 7),
• Vaccination card, Clinic immunisation card.

Once you have uploaded all documents, and completed all processes, you must now simply wait. The department says that the Placement Period, when schools will start accepting learners and parents must accept placement offers will begin on 16th September 2024, so there will be a period of simply doing nothing.

Still have questions after this guide? You can find more information on the official X and Facebook accounts of the Gauteng Department of Education.

Alternatively, you can contact the department’s information centre on:

• 0800 000 789,
• 060 891 0361,
• Via email at GDEInfo@Gauteng.gov.za,
• or TalkToTheMEC@Gauteng.gov.za.

[Image – Photo by Thomas Kolnowski on Unsplash]