By Lungile Ntimba
The Democratic Alliance has urged the Gauteng education department to open online learner admissions for the 2026 academic year early, to avoid repeated delays and disruptions that plague school placements.
“This will give parents more time to apply, allow the department to review submissions, open the late application period earlier and prevent a situation where learners are left without school admission and miss days and months of schooling,” DA MPL Sergio Isa Dos Santos said in a statement on Thursday.
“In 2025, the GDE confirmed that over 6377 learners were only placed between 15 January and the final deadline of 30 January,” he said.
These delays resulted in learners missing up to two weeks of schooling, which Dos Santos attributed to poor planning and inefficiency within the department.
The DA also cited ongoing issues with the online admissions system, including frequent technical glitches, difficulties with document uploads and what it described as “unfair placement practices” that continued to frustrate both parents and schools.
Online admissions for Grades 1 and 8 opened on 16 September, last year.
INSIDE EDUCATION
