Johannesburg - The Gauteng Department of Education has suspended its online school applications until next week.
This was after the system crashed on Monday, resulting in parents and guardians being unable to log on to register their children. The system was supposed to be back online on Wednesday, but Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi announced that parents will have to wait until Tuesday.
From Thursday, the department will start testing the system on government employees. “We are now gearing ourselves for April 19, when everyone can apply. We are politely asking parents to pull back for now. We are taking all government officials who need to apply and stress-testing with them to see if the system can carry the load.”
Lesufi said the system, which crashed when it got more than 600 hits a second, was now able to handle 3 000 hits a second. He said government officials would not be given special treatment but were just meant to test the system. He said parents who were able to pre-register their children on Monday can proceed with applications next week.
Despite the crash in the online system, the MEC said the department would not go back to the manual system. “In the manual system, we could not plan properly on the number of teachers we need, learners in the system and furniture and textbooks we need to procure. We relied on something called 10-day statistics. With the online system, we can plan properly for the year,” he explained.
Lesufi also said he was unhappy that some school governing bodies (SGBs) were against the system. “Those who are our enemies in the SGBs and AfriForum, hold your horses. The big challenge is on April 19, and I hope to get a congratulatory message in my inbox. SGBs have been consulted countless times.
“People are snubbing us be-cause they don't want to let go of benefits. There are people who have unfair benefits through the manual system and they know that this system is going to eliminate that system,” Lesufi said.
He again assured parents. “There is no need to panic. There is no need to say the system is not working. There is no need to say you have lost the opportunity to register your child.”
Parents without internet connection can visit their local Thusong centres and district offices, where they will be helped with the application process. The online registration is for pupils who will be in Grades 1 and 8 next year.
Grade R and special-needs- school applications are still done at schools and not on the online system. Applications for pupils who are in Grades 1 to 6 in primary schools and Grades 7 to 11 in secondary schools are being processed by schools until April 29.
“No child will not be placed. The right to education is non-negotiable. The only thing that might happen is that you might not be placed at the school of your choice,” Lesufi said.
Parents who experience problems can contact the de-partment at [email protected] or 011 355 0966/0559/0198/0600 or the toll-free number 0800 000 789.
The Star