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AfriForum urgently calls on all parents wishing to enrol their children in Gauteng schools for Grade 1 or 8 for 2027 to prepare for the online registration process, which opens on 5 August 2026 at 08:00. Registrations on the portal will close on 4 September.

The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) announced the registration dates this morning during an online media conference.

Carien Bloem, Head of Education Projects at AfriForum, warns that, as in previous years, a placement disaster may await the province’s Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners for 2027.

“The online registration platform will again open very late this year, and with an estimated 400 000-plus learners requiring placement within just four weeks before the end of the 2026 school year – combined with the system’s poor track record – parents need to prepare for a challenging registration process,” explains Bloem. 

The placement of Grade 1 and 8 learners for the 2026 school year in the province was a disaster, and the system failed to successfully complete the massive volume of placements within the limited timeframe. Furthermore, the growing learner population, coupled with an insufficient number of schools in the province, exacerbates the problem. 

“Parents should therefore prepare themselves for a potential struggle regarding placement,” says Bloem. To mitigate potential issues, Bloem encourages parents to complete the learner registration process fully as soon as possible and to submit all required documentation to their preferred schools within three days. 

She also advises parents to apply to only one – or at most two – preferred schools, as unnecessary multiple applications complicate capacity planning and delay the final placement of learners. Additionally, she encourages parents to take screenshots of the entire registration process and to keep these screenshots and the registration number in a safe place. Since parents will be notified of placement via SMS, she reminds parents to ensure that a working mobile number is used when providing contact details during registration.

According to the GDE, the following steps must be followed to register a learner on the online portal:

1.    Register the parents’ details.

2.    Register proof of physical address.

3.    Register the learner’s details.

4.    Select at least two preferred schools.

5.    Upload all documentation electronically to the registration portal.

The portal is available at www.gdeadmissions.gov.za.

Required documentation includes identity documents of the parents and the prospective learner’s birth certificate; proof of physical address; proof of work address; vaccination card (only for the registration of Grade 1 learners); and the most recent Grade 7 report card (only for the registration of prospective Grade 8 learners).

AfriForum will continuously monitor the placement process and post additional information on AfriForum’s social media platforms. Parents who experience any challenges with the registration process are encouraged to notify AfriForum via email (onderwys@afriforum.co.za).