Some 11 640 parents have used the Gauteng Department of Education's (GDE's) education registration admissions Web site, the department says.
According to the department, it is on track with its app to add to the online admissions registration process. The app will be utilised next year for the 2017 admissions, it notes.
Earlier this year, the GDE moved to make the schools admission registration process tech-savvy in order to minimise long queues during the registration period.
"The department has recorded 11 640 parents who utilised the online registration services since its launch in March this year," GDE spokesperson Phumla Sekhonyane told ITWeb.
Moira De Roche, MD of e-learning company Aligned4Learning, says 11 640 is not really a significant number but it's a start.
Avoid long queues
The education department says it introduced the online admissions Web site to enable parents to register their children from the comfort of their own homes and avoid overcrowding in schools.
According to the GDE, for the 2015 academic year, it received 30 000 late applications, which resulted in the department supplying additional alternative classrooms to accommodate learners.
To improve the schools registration system, the GDE launched the site to track admissions in all the schools, manage the applications and avoid duplications. The department's online resource also matches a learner with the school closest to their place of residence.
It also acts as the department's centralised database for planning and reporting purposes.
Multiple solutions
De Roche says she fully supports the idea of a Web site to help with registration of school children. "We need more initiatives like this.
"If the system works properly, it should be able to indicate when a school is fully subscribed. The parent should then be told about available spaces at other nearby schools," she says.
"As long as the site is easy to use, and its availability has been widely advertised, it should certainly improve the process. It will make it quicker to get statistics, and hopefully allocating resources to schools will be improved," says De Roche.
Graeme Bloch, University of Witwatersrand Public and Development Management School, says initiatives like the admissions Web site can't be the only solution to deal with overcrowding.
"I do think it helps, he says. "As long as it is an addition to what exists."
De Roche notes the department needs the right initiatives to achieve take-up, such as having terminals at schools and helping people who queue to use the terminals.
"Those who do not use online services will be less comfortable, and the only way to encourage them is a comprehensive marketing campaign stressing how easy it is."
Technology-driven
The Gauteng Provincial Government is driving paperless learning in the province and the GDE has taken a leading role in implementing various ICT initiatives.
This year, the GDE started with the rollout of tablets in schools and the online admissions process was in line with establishing smart classrooms.
Some 375 high schools in Gauteng switched from chalkboards to smartboards. According to the department, it purchased over 17 000 tablets for Grade 12 learners, and 1 800 3D LED interactive boards.
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