More than 90 000 learner applications processed at lunch time
Very few hick-ups have occurred so far
The Gauteng Provincial Government officially launched the 2018 Online Admissions for Grade 1 and 8 on Tuesday.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura and MEC Panyaza Lesufi started with a blitz as early as 6am and proceeded to assist parents at one of the Admission Centres in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg.
“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 from the parents that have either used the system or go to an admission centre to apply online has generally been positive.
Within 20 minutes of opening, over 16 000 parents had successfully applied online. At lunch time, 90 984 applications were processed through the system.
The Department would like to urge all parents who do not have access to the internet to visit one of the 65 Admission Centres across Gauteng. The centres opened at 8am on Tuesday. Parents also have the option of visiting community libraries and Thusanong centres in Gauteng.
The department has identified a few minor problems, namely:
1. Parents experiencing being told that their details already exist. We advise parents to reset their passwords.
2. Parents receiving error messages while applying. This might be caused by network problems in the area in which parents are applying. Parents are advised to refresh the system by pressing F5 or reboot. Technicians are examining the cause of the problem.
3. Parents receiving an SMS without the reference number. A new SMS will be generated and sent to the affected parents.
However, most of these have been resolved. Problems were resolved swiftly as soon as parents alerted the department.
Parents are urged to use Google Chrome to access the online website as is it faster than other search engines.
The Department’s call centre is currently offline and the network is down due to a fire that occurred over the weekend in its office at 111 Commissioner Street.
The Gauteng Department of Education, made the following changes to the system:
• Increased capacity to handle at least 150 000 concurrent applications per minute.
• Application process was reduced to a once-off process rather than a two-step process of registering a profile and then applying a week later. This has made the system user-friendly.
• System not picking up some schools.
Parents are reminded to submit their documents to the school within seven days. If documents are not submitted within the stipulated period, the application cannot be completed.
Parents that have not yet applied for Grade 1 and 8 must do so as soon as possible. The closing date for applications is the June 12 at midnight. The placement of learners will start on July 24.
Parents with learners in Grade 2-7 and Grade 9-11 are reminded of re-enrollment at the school.
