The Eastern Cape government is piloting an online pupil admissions system in four districts — while acknowledging that parents may face obstacles similar to those experienced in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
The department has begun piloting an Online Learner Admissions System for grade R, grade 1 and grade 8 pupils in the Buffalo City Metro, Nelson Mandela Bay, OR Tambo Inland and Joe Gqabi districts.
The system is intended to “streamline admissions, reduce the administrative burden on schools, and provide the department with real-time information on learner placements”.
This was revealed by Eastern Cape education MEC Fundile Gade during a media briefing at the Mandla Makupula Institute in Stirling, KuGompo City, on Wednesday.
Gade admitted that the province’s move towards online admissions would not be without its challenges, particularly in rural communities where many parents had limited access to technology and internet services.
Mindful of the difficulties experienced in Gauteng and the Western Cape, he said the provincial government had deliberately opted for a hybrid model that would allow parents to apply either online or manually.
“We have to learn from what then transpired in their own challenges of the online system,” Gade said.
“Hence we have created a hybrid, that those that apply online can be afforded to do so, but also those that apply manually must also be afforded to do so.”
The MEC said the pilot programme would allow the department to assess the system before deciding whether to roll out in all districts.
“When we are required to take a drastic decision on whether to roll out to every district, we can be able to do that at a scientific level, assessment point of view,” he said.
The department believes the system will improve oversight of admissions by allowing officials to monitor applications in real time and identify schools that are over- or under-enrolled.
Eastern Cape education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said parents would visit the online admissions portal, create a profile, upload supporting documents and submit an application.
Once completed, the system would generate a reference number and notify parents via SMS or email.
Schools would assess applications and notify parents whether their child had been accepted or rejected.
Parents would then have seven days to accept or decline the placement offer.
However, Mtima said if parents failed to respond within seven days, the system would automatically place the pupil at one of the three schools selected by the parent, using geographical location and available capacity as criteria.
He said parents unhappy with the allocated school would not be able to lodge an appeal through the online platform.
“There will be no appeals on the system if the parent happens not to like the selected school,” Mtima said.
Instead, appeals and complaints would be handled at district level.
The portal will be available at ecschoolsadmissions.org.za once it is officially launched by Gade and head of department Sharon Maasdorp at a date that is yet to be announced.
The plans first came to light in May, when parents of more than 500 pupils at St Anne’s Primary School accused the department of effectively allowing the collapse of the historic institution by preparing to relocate pupils to other schools in Buffalo City.
Some parents welcomed the initiative but raised concerns about how it would affect them.
A parent at St Anne’s Primary School said she hoped the new system would not disrupt admissions.
“I know of it from the news in Gauteng. Every year, I know there is a challenge but I really don’t know much about it.
“I haven’t been told anything, but I hope it doesn’t cause a disruption to our lives.
“Does this mean I don’t choose a school anymore for my child?
“I think they need to train us, especially those in rural areas.
“I am fortunate because I have access to the internet daily,” she said.
A teacher and parent in Nelson Mandela Bay said she was concerned about transport costs if pupils were placed at schools further away from home.
“We will have to be trained as well, but I’m not knowledgeable.
“I wonder whether it would come with a subsidy because if it places a child further away, then who pays?”
She said many parents already travelled long distances to enrol their children at better-performing schools.
Beacon Bay resident Oyama Dyomfana opposed the idea, saying many people in rural communities were unfamiliar with technology.
“Therefore it often limits lots of people,” he said.
However, Qhama Mfundeye, 45, welcomed the new system, saying online applications would save parents time by eliminating long queues and repeated trips to schools.
Maasdorp said the department was determined to ensure parents in rural communities were not disadvantaged.
“There is no way we will marginalise our parents from rural areas from having an opportunity to place their learner in the best school,” she said.
She acknowledged that overcrowding remained a challenge because parents naturally preferred high-performing schools.
“When parents see a school is performing well, they take their learners to that school and they will go to such an extent to insist on [their] learner being in the school,” she said.
She said the department’s challenge was not to restrict parental choice, but to improve underperforming schools so they also became schools of choice.
National School Governing Body Association chair Matakanya Matakanye welcomed the initiative but cautioned that its success would depend on how effectively the department addressed the realities facing poor and rural communities.
“It is welcome, even if it is late,” he said.
“They must look into the parents who come from the poorest of the poor and those from deep rural areas.
“You may find that the area where they want to admit children through the system has no access to these things.
“How do they ensure that each and every parent in the province is able to access the service?”
Gauteng officially opened applications for grade 1 and grade 8 admissions for 2027 on Wednesday, with education MEC Lebogang Maile urging parents to prepare supporting documents and familiarise themselves with the online process before the September deadline.
The new system has, in recent years, attracted criticism from frustrated parents over placement delays, technical glitches and the annual scramble for places at sought-after schools as rapid population growth and migration continue to exert pressure on Gauteng’s education infrastructure.
Daily Dispatch
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