Register online now, Lesufi urges parents

TIME is fast running out for parents who want to apply for spaces for the 2018 academic year. The Gauteng Department of Education is encouraging parents to apply for Grade 1 and 8 spaces in schools before the June 12 closing date.

Yesterday, Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi could not contain his excitement in running a successful online application system. Last year, the system crashed and some parents struggled to use it, resulting in long queues at the beginning of 2017.

At a media briefing, Lesufi said: “I am excited and thrilled that we managed to have an online registration system to allow the broader education system to grow.

“Gone are the days where, every time we had to allocate our budget, we had to go to schools and count the number of pupils, which created problems. Now, at the press of a button, we know how many learners are in the education system.”

So far, 229 828 applications have been processed since the start of the online applications on May 2. About 45 000 parents, mostly those with no access to the internet, have used the department’s walk-in admission centres.

Lesufi said 11 schools, including Benoni High School, Mondeor High School and Hoërskool Akasia, which had the highest demand, were now full.

He admitted that most parents will be disappointed that their children haven’t been admitted to their schools of choice. “It’s going to be difficult, to be honest. It’s actually going to be war because those parents who want their children to attend Pretoria High School for Girls, for example, that school can only take an estimate of 300 additional Grade 8s. Then you have 1 500 parents who have applied.

“We don’t expect the 1 200 who will not get access there to fold their arms and say ‘we have accepted and we have lost’.”

He said being admitted to schools was now like playing the lottery. “We are entering that stage where whoever is lucky will go through,” Lesufi said.

He cautioned parents not to apply late. “Last year, many parents in townships waited for the late application period or flooded the GDE’s offices in January to apply for their children. We appeal to parents not to delay but to apply before June 12,” said Lesufi. The placement process will start on July 24. “Unfortunately, parents and guardians who will be seeking placements for learners at our schools in January 2018 will have to settle for any available ones from the department, without an opportunity to choose a school,” Lesufi stressed.

@Zwane_2li2ls

Getting into a school is going to be like the lottery