More than 210,000 Gauteng school applications submitted within four hours

More than 210,000 applicants for grade 1 and grade 8 school placements have been received within four hours of Gauteng’s 2027 online admissions system since it opened on Wednesday. The Gauteng department of education announced that theonline admissions systemwent live at 8am on Wednesday. Before the system officially opened, more than 12,000 parents and guardians were ready to start with applications, with 12,058 logging on between 7.30am and 7.59am to prepare to submit.

Gauteng education MECLebogang Mailesaid the good start of the application period showed that parents continued to trust the province’s online admissions system. “The application process has proceeded smoothly without any major technical incidents,” he said. The highest demand was recorded in Ekurhuleni South and Tshwane West education districts.

The department said Gauteng’s public school system now has more than 2.4-million learners in 2,111 public schools. Over the past year, learner numbers have increased by more than 23,000, which is equal to the need for about 19 new schools with space for around 1,200 pupils each. The online admissions system has grown every year since it was introduced in 2015, it said.

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During the 2025 admissions cycle, about 400,000 grade 1 and grade 8 pupils were successfully placed in schools. The department warned parents not to fall victim to scammers who claim they can secure school placements for money

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