Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane. Picture: DBE Gauteng parents who missed the deadline to enrol their Grade 1 and Grade 8 children for 2026 will get another chance when late applications officially open in December. This was announced by Gauteng MEC for Education and Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Matome Chiloane, during a media briefing on the province’s placement progress.
Chiloane confirmed that late applications will open on 17 December 2025 and run until the end of January 2026. Parents with incomplete applications are urged to reapply and upload all required documents. Chiloane said the department received 820 354 online applications, which included duplicates, but the number of unique applications totalled 358 574 across Grades 1 and 8.
He said the province had placed 87% of completed applications, amounting to 317 988 pupils. “We are left with 40 586 pupils who still need placement,” he said, adding that this includes 15 530 Grade 1s and 25 056 Grade 8s. He said Gauteng’s population shifts have created immense pressure in inner-city and established suburban districts such as Johannesburg East, Johannesburg North, Tshwane West and Ekurhuleni.
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