The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), together with Vodacom Business, is celebrating a successful registration season for 2026 school placements through its newly minted Online Admissions platform. The platform is aimed at making the application process easier and more transparent for parents and teachers.

Vodacom charges no price for Admission

Education MEC Matome Chiloane described the platform as one of the department’s most important tools. “By digitising and streamlining the admissions process, we are reducing barriers for parents, increasing transparency, and strengthening accountability,” he said.

Upon launch on 24 July 2025, the system saw more than 78,000 Grade 1 and Grade 8 applications within the first hour. By lunchtime, Vodacom says that figure had surpassed 210,000, and by the end of the registration period, 820,350 applications had been processed.

The platform is designed to be as accessible as possible. It is zero-rated, meaning parents can access it without using mobile data. It also includes a range of new features like filters that adjust school options based on uploaded documents, and a new alert that flags conflicts between parents’ language preferences and a school’s offerings.

For officials, the system now provides more control over placements. The controversial 50% automatic placement rule has been scrapped. Staff also get a Transfer Management Table, which provides a full breakdown of all qualifying unplaced applications. The return of the automated transfer function means unplaced learners are automatically given offers based on proximity, language compatibility, and school capacity, presumably without the need to have even applied. This gives teachers and school boards one less thing to handle in the process, while also ensuring students have exhausted all simpler options without all the work that usually takes.