Pressure from FEDSAS has contributed to changes to the controversial e-platform used by the Gauteng Education Department for applications for school admissions. Last week the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS), through its lawyers, sent a letter of demand to the Department in an attempt to get the Department to make changes to the system, or alternatively to scrap the platform in its current format as the system did not comply with regulations.

“Parents and guardians in Gauteng are encouraged to apply online for their school of choice without delay,” says Mr Paul Colditz, CEO of FEDSAS. Two important changes include that parents can now indicate their school of choice and the applications are sent to the schools for the compilation of the so-called A and B lists. This means that a school’s language and admissions policies are taken into account. In its previous format the platform simply allocated a school based on the parents’ address and it was not possible for applicants to indicate their language preference.

“FEDSAS is grateful for the Gauteng Education Department’s willingness to listen to the input of education role-players. If we can build on this constructive discussion we might be able to avoid future court actions,” says Colditz. In addition this also serves as evidence of FEDSAS’ influence as a respected education role-player.

However, there are still certain aspects of this application process that is of concern, for example the fact that parents can only apply electronically. “FEDSAS supports initiatives that improve processes, however we can never lose sight of the bigger picture. There are thousands of parents who, for various reasons, do not have easy access to the Internet. This means that they do not really have a say in where their children attend school,” says Colditz.

However, FEDSAS is prepared to assist the Department in fine-tuning this process. “A successfully integrated electronic process will be to the advantage of everyone and could eventually be used by other provinces as well.”