School admissions have been a contentious issue across the country with many pupils still struggling to get acceptance in schools mid-year. However, the most pressing issue is how provincial heads are planning to eradicate this problem for the next academic year.
The Western Cape Education Department said on Monday that it had close to 150 000 registered users on its WCED admissions website for 2022 applications.
In February and March this year, the WCED admissions website recorded 408,672 applications by 149 633 registered users during its admissions process.
The process ended on March 31, 2021, and school governing bodies have since been applying their admission policies to determine placements for next year.
According to the department, on May 24, 2021, the website will begin to display the outcome of the process to inform parents as to whether their application has been successful or not. Please note that some schools may indicate “pending” – which means, they have yet to upload their final outcome. The process should be finalised within a week.
“They can then go to ‘Track Application Status’, select the name of learner and then under ‘Application Status’, it will inform the parent as to whether their application was a) Successful, b) Unsuccessful or c) Has been placed on the waiting list.
“The parent must then either ‘Withdraw’ or ‘Confirm’ their application,” the WCED detailed.
The WCED has come under fire for having thousands of pupils unplaced. However, the department said it was making progress.
The KwaZulu Natal Education Department has also issued a directive on its admission processes for 2022.
The province has given the greenlight for the enrolment process to open on May 3rd and it will close on October 1st.
Schools are required to communicate to parents on when forms will be available for collection and deadline date on when they should be returned.
The school will respond to parents on the outcome of the application. Parents are to confirm whether they accept the offers by no later than August 31st.
Meanwhile, Gauteng Education Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said the province is finalising its 2022 admission programme.