The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) urged Grade 1 and 8 parents not to panic regarding placement offers for their children for the 2023 school year.

From Monday, October 3, parents and guardians have been sent SMSes with placement offers to the contact numbers they used when applying.

Also read: Deadlines for 2022 online applications loom

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi explained that parents/ guardians will have to log on to gdeadmissions.gov.za using their credentials to accept an offer as final, OR accept while awaiting other offers within seven days.

“SMSes will be sent out on a continual basis until the end of the placement period on November 30. This means that not all applicants will receive an SMS on the first day of the placement period, but they must expect an SMS anytime between October 03 and November 30. If parents and guardians have not received an SMS, they don’t need to panic as they are welcome to use their credentials to log on to gdeadmissions.gov.za and check whether they have received an offer or not.

In the event an SMS states that your child has been placed at a certain school, this will be regarded as successful placement to the mentioned school, and there will be no need for a parent/ guardian to access the system to accept an offer in that regard, because the child would be placed at the mentioned school.”

FORGOTTEN PASSWORDS/ LOST CREDENTIALS

Parents and guardians who may have forgotten or lost their credentials must click on “Forgot Password” on the landing page and follow the prompts to regain access to the system.

Alternatively, Lesufi said, “Parents and guardians are welcome to interact with our call centre agents on 0800 000 789 or WhatsApp us on 060 891 0361. Normally, a high volume of calls is received during this period, and ALL our offices experience a high number of walk-ins from parents/ guardians.

We plead for patience and understanding as our officials work hard to assist everyone.”

For more information, assistance or comments:
• Call them on 0800 000 789
• WhatsApp them on 060 891 0361
• Email: admissions.hotline@gauteng.gov.za or gdeinfo@gauteng.gov.za

For further information, visit education.gauteng.gov.za

Lesufi admitted that although they experienced some challenges within the first few minutes of switching on the Online Admissions system on July 22 this year, it must be noted that, at the end of the Application Period, the system had recorded the highest number of submitted applications since its inception in 2016.

“A total of 764 062 applications were submitted and processed for both Grades 1 and 8. This translates into a total of 330 227 Grade 1 applications and 457 433 Grade 8 applications. From the above applications, we have a total of 332 477 learners to place (Grade 1: 157 697; Grade 8: 174 780).

This success can be attributed to system improvements over the years, which are necessitated by continuous stakeholder engagements.”