Eastern Cape pilots online school admissions

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. 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.