GDE extends placement period for Grades 1 and 8

The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has announced an extension of the placement period deadline for the year 2022 Online Admissions for Grade 1 and grade 8 for.

The deadline was initially set for Tuesday 30 November but had to be extended due to delays in some parents accepting offers, according to the department.

“The GDE regrets to inform unplaced parents that we are extending the placement period deadline to 10 December 2021. To date, the department has successfully placed 213,313 (64%) of the 335,091 applications received.”

It said that the number of unplaced applicants was at 121,778 (Grade 1: 43,654 and Grade 8: 78,372).

“It must be indicated that, we have received a high volume of applications which have applied pressure to our school’s capacity to accommodate learners,” reads the statement.

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“Our officials are working around the clock to manage the demand most of our schools have against the capacity that they are able to accommodate, and what we are prioritizing mostly at this stage is ensuring that learners have space in a school in Gauteng before 2022 begins.

“We also plead with those who have not yet received an offer to continue checking their application status and accepting available offers of placement by logging into www.gdeadmissions.gov.za as we will be processing applications and sending out more offers throughout this extended placement period.”

Parents have since been advised that offers which remain pending for more than seven days will be auto-accepted as placed to avoid further delays.

“A parent that does not prefer the offer of placement given should lodge an objection by declining the offer online.

“Objection forms are available online. Should a parent remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the objection, they may submit an appeal by declining the objection outcome online. Appeal forms are available online. While the Department remains committed to placing all applicants, with or without documents, it must be noted that placement cannot be made without proof of residence (home address).”

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Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi apologised for the delays and said this was purely because preferred schools were full and they were hard at work in attempt to expand their capacities.

“We also call upon those who received offers to either accept or decline the offer as some parents may accept your declined offer. This will assist us in accelerating placements. Your co-operation will be highly appreciated,” said Lesufi.