Northern Cape Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, has described this move as a major milestone to modernise the province.
“As this new administration, we articulated a vision of building a modern, growing and successful province. Modern, is a province that keeps pace with technology and it’s at the cutting edge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR),” he said on Wednesday.
“I also made the undertaking that there will be two immediate and important focus areas for this administration, mainly in the areas of health and education, as these two departments take up the bulk of the provincial budget.”
He said changes needed to occur in these departments as they strive to turn the situation around for the benefit of the people, especially the youth.
“The launch today of this online admission system is not only at the centre of creating an admission system that will be without glitches, but it also sets the tone and adds to our vision of creating a government that keeps pace with technology.”
He hopes the initiative will also restore dignity in communities and save parents from spending nights queuing to get their children registered at a school.
“We are pleased to announce that the online admission system eliminates possible delays of over 1,000 applications per year. This implies not only a dignified service but also an efficient system and for that, we reassure our society that we are a government that cares about your dignity.”
The province said the system would open from 14 to 30 September 2020, while 199 fully equipped walk-in centres across all five districts will be available to assist parents without access to the internet and related services.
He has appealed to parents to note that the success of their application will be determined by selection criteria that they adopted.
According to the Premier, the department will look at whether the learner has a sibling or a parent or guardian working at the school.
They will also take into account if the place of residence of the applicant learner is in the same suburb or adjacent to the school.
“If spaces remain after all the above-mentioned applicants have been admitted; other applicants in the order of the position will be considered,” he explained.
Saul said it was important for parents to make an effort to understand the admission criteria before the system officially opens on 14 September to avoid unnecessary appeals and delays on the system at the beginning of the year.
“I must highlight that the delays and the appeals have a tendency to be disruptive on the ability of the schools to effective learning and teaching on the first day of schooling.”
The Premier said they were planning to have a 100% enrolment in the province in three years.
“Soon we will launch our enrolment brigades, people that will go door-to-door to ensure that all children of school-going age are at school,” Saul said.
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