Only pupils with verified and complete applications will be eligible to receive placement offers during the official placement period.
Parents and guardians in Gauteng have until midnight on Friday to submit applications for the 2026 academic year, as the Department of Education closes its online admissions portal for Grade 1 and Grade 8 placements.
More than 800 000 applications received
According to the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), more than 800 000 applications had been logged on the system by Thursday evening.
Of these, 345 493 were for Grade 1 and 455 037 for Grade 8.
However, the department expressed concern about the large number of incomplete applications still on the system.
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“To date, 52 929 incomplete applications have been recorded. These include parents who registered details but did not finalise school selections, and those who applied but failed to submit or upload the required documents,” the GDE said.
Deadline for documents
Parents have been reminded that certified copies of all required documents must be submitted to schools or uploaded online by 12pm on 9 September.
The department stressed that proof of home address remains crucial, as placement is determined by feeder zones.
“Incomplete applications will not be considered for placement offers,” the department warned.
It added that fraudulent or invalid documents would lead to applicants forfeiting their placement offers.
Only pupils with verified and complete applications will be eligible to receive placement offers during the official placement period, which begins on 16 October and will continue until all pupils are placed.
Placement criteria
Placement is not done on a first-come, first-served basis. Instead, the department applies specific criteria in the following order:
- Home address within the school’s feeder zone, closest to the school
- Sibling or previous school at the institution
- Work address within the feeder zone
- Home address within a 30km radius
- Home address beyond a 30km radius
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MEC calls for urgent action
Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane urged parents not to wait until the last minute.
“We urge all parents who have not yet completed the full five-step process to do so immediately. Failure to act before the deadline will result in disappointment and loss of placement priority,” Chiloane said.
Parents can apply at www.gdeadmissions.gov.za.
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