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Parents/guardians who want to enrol their child(ren) in grade 1 or 8 in Gauteng schools for 2023 should take note that the online registration process opens on Friday 22 July at 08:00. This period lapses on 19 August 2022 already, which means that parents have less than a month to enrol their children. AfriForum encourages parents to complete this registration process as soon as possible to ensure that their children are place in the school of their choice.

Applications for enrolment in Gauteng schools can only be done online on the Gauteng Department of Basic Education’s website. AfriForum has compiled guidelines to assist parents who want to enrol their children for these grades, as well as providing a platform where parents who experience any insurmountable problems with the system, can ask for advice. 

Parents will be informed via SMS from 3 October to 30 November 2022 in which school their children have been placed and they then have seven school days to accept the department’s offer regarding the school. It is important that parents should know that everyone won’t receive an SMS simultaneously. An SMS regarding the placement offer can be expected any time between 3 October to 30 November 2022.

Parents may also receive more than one offer as applications can be made at a maximum of five schools. If an offer is accepted, other offers will automatically lapse. According to the Gauteng Department of Basic Education, learners are placed according to the distance that they live from the school – learners who live closest to the school will therefore enjoy preference. The feeding zone and capacity of a school will also be considered.

The period for late applications will only be open between 20 December 2022 and 20 January 2023 and learners can then only be placed in schools where there is still space available. Parents are therefore advised to apply during the registration period from 22 July to 19 August 2022 to ensure that their children are placed in the school of their choice. 

“AfriForum advises parents to register their children at the school of their choice as soon as possible. Early registration leaves enough room and time to resolve any problems that might arise with the online process in time. It is generally known that there are too few schools in Gauteng and this problem falls squarely on the shoulders of the Gauteng Department of Basic Education. However, this emphasises the urgency of enrolling children quickly. AfriForum also wants to point out the immense benefits of mother tongue education (especially at school level) to parents who are deciding on which school to enrol their child/ren in,” says Natasha Venter, Advisor for Education Rights at AfriForum.

Issued by AfriForum