Parents and guardians have been urged by the WCED to hand in placement applications for Grades 1 and 8, as well as transfer applications for the 2024 school year, before the incoming deadline.
Also read: Back to school: WCED ready for busy academic year
This comes as, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) had received 103 796 applications as of 5 April.
A total of 342 497 applications have been lodged, considering parents who have applied to more than one school.
Online applications opened on 13 March and will close on Friday, 14 April.
It is a regular occurrence for the department to receive applications closer to the deadline according to education MEC, David Maynier.
However, he emphasised that parents needed to apply on time.
“It is extremely important for parents to apply on time for the coming school year so that we can plan effectively for places for their children,” Maynier said.
Particular cause for concern is with Grade 7s, where 44 000 pupils are yet to apply for Grade 8 next year.
The MEC said that the department aims to contact several schools to encourage Grade 7 parents to apply.
He added that parents who experience technical issues with applications are able to log a query for assistance. He said pop-up stalls would also be used to assist those without internet access.
Meanwhile, Department of Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said that the opening date for 2024 school applications has not yet been indicated in other provinces
“We are not open yet. We just finalised admissions for this year following some delays with placing learners in some provinces,” Mhlanga said.
“At this point, only the Western Cape and Free State are open; the other provinces have not yet opened. They will open their school applications at different times with different closing dates,” Mhlanga added.
Mhlanga said one of their biggest challenges was always “late and sudden applications” that are not planned for, only for people to arrive in particular areas and then “causing a lot of problems.”
“The advice is to apply as soon as the applications are open where you are,” added Mhlanga.
Also read:
WCED has already received over 51 000 student applications for 2024
Picture: Unsplash
