Cape Town - With the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) expected to close the 2024 online school application portal in four days, parents have been urged to ensure their children’s applications are completed in time.
Education MEC, David Maynier, expressed concern parents of 44 000 learners currently in Grade 7 had not yet submitted an application for their children for Grade 8 next year.
Maynier said they would request the children’s current primary schools “to contact parents and remind them”.
The application process is open until just before midnight on Friday.
According to the WCED, as of 2.30pm on April 5, they had received 103 796 applications for learners for next year.
With parents applying for more than one school, the total number of individual applications to schools received stood at 342 497.
Maynier said it was important for parents to apply on time as it helped the department plan more effectively for placements.
“We need the data from our admissions system to determine where there is additional demand, so that we can provide the necessary resources and infrastructure, in time for the start of the 2024 school year.
“This includes valuable data on the number of learners that require placement in specific areas, their grades, and their language preferences.
“The earlier we have this information, the better, which is why we appeal especially to parents of Grade 1 and 8 learners to apply before the April 14 deadline,” he said.
Parents who experience technical problems can log a query using the “contact us” option at the top of the admissions page, to be assisted with technical issues they might encounter.
Guardians can also visit pop-up stalls at specific schools and malls.
Cape Times