Gather necessary documents as applications for WCED's 2025 school year opens soon

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has announced that applications for the 2025 school year, will open within 10 days time.

MEC David Maynier says this first admission window for this year, caters for applications for Grade 1 and 8 only. He says applications for Grade 1 and 8 open at 00h01 on 11 March 2024 and close at 23h59 on 12 April 2024.

Maynier appealed to all parents and guardians with children entering Grade 1 and Grade 8 next year to start gathering and certifying the necessary documentation required for their applications, so that they are ready to apply when the admissions window opens.

COURTESY: WCED

The following certified documents will be required for all applications:

• The last official school Report Card

• Proof of identity:

o ID, Birth certificate, or passport of the learner,

o In the case of a foreign learner: a passport, or a study permit or proof of

application for a study permit, or a copy of the parent’s Asylum seeker or Refugee Permit

o OR A police affidavit if these documents are not available

• Immunisation card (Road to Health Chart) [Primary Schools only]

• Proof of Residence (Rates account, Lease agreement, an affidavit confirming residence)

‘’Getting the necessary certified documentation together in advance will make the online application process a lot easier. Once you have them in your possession, it takes roughly 15 minutes to apply and load the documents online,’’ David Maynier, Western Cape Education MEC.

‘’You can certify copies of your documents at any police station or post office. Keep these copies together, as you will need to submit the hard copies later this year to the final school your child is accepted to,’’ he added.

The MEC says sites will be made available for those parents and guardians who do not have access to internet facilities or need assistance applying online.

‘’We have arranged pop-up admission sites at over 120 sites which includes shopping malls, schools and other facilities, in all 8 education districts. Diarise the dates for the most convenient facility to utilise near you!’’

‘’We would like as many parents and guardians as possible to apply on time so that we can use this data to plan ahead and further improve the placement process in our province,’’ added Maynier.

Maynier welcomed National Treasury’s decision to provisionally allocate R2.549 billion to its Rapid School Build programme.

‘’This provisional allocation over three financial years is a massive vote of confidence by National Treasury for our Rapid School Build programme and will be used to build new schools that will expand the number of school places available in the Western Cape.’’

In a query from Bush Radio News, the WCED says 226 Grade 1 and 8 learners still needs to be placed for the current 2024 school year.

Giving a breakdown, spokesperson Kerry Mauchline, says 128 are late applications (before end 2023), 84 applied extremely late (since 1 Jan 2024), and 14 applied on time

Done By: Mitchum George