Good start for online drive
Gauteng education happy with system
By yesterday afternoon, the Gauteng department of education had already received over 100 000 online applications from parents whose children will be going to Grade 1 and 8 next year.
MEC Panyaza Lesufi officially launched the online application system for 2018 yesterday in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg.
The department said yesterday that it had reached its target of 108 040 applications on the first day of the online application going live. The online application system went live at 8am, yesterday and will close at midnight on June 12.
Acting head of communication at the department, Oupa Bodibe, said even thought there were “minor problems”, such as parents being told on applying that their details already existed, or receiving error messages while applying, they had resolved them.
“We are pleased with the success of the online application system and humbled by the overwhelming response by the people of Gauteng. The feedback so far has generally been positive,” said Bodibe in a statement.
Last year, the online system was marred by glitches resulting in over 50 000 pupils not been placed at schools at the start of the 2017 academic calendar.
But yesterday Thandi Mahlaule, one of the first parents to use the system in Orange Farm, said it was “easy”.
“The process was very easy, They asked for my details, the details of my child. I think it took less than five minutes, I am so grateful, I am very happy.
“I got an SMS [of confirmation] in less than five minutes,” she said.
Another parent, Xolelwa Bongo, said she would also go to the centre to register her two kids. “I think it is easier than going to the school directly, because if you do not get space the first time, your child can be placed elsewhere,” she said.
The department has urged parents who do not have access to the internet to visit 65 admission centres across the province, or go to libraries and Thusanong centres.