School admission applications for the 2024 school year in Western Cape opened on 13 March with late WCED online applications closing on 25 May. Now, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has said that parents can check their application outcomes.
A message from the department read:
Parents & guardians will be able to view the outcome of their application for the 2024 school year on the admissions website from 29 May 2023.
If parents have not used their WCED login and checked if their WCED online password is correct, they might experience delays doing this. Should they need to reset their password, they can call 0860 142 142 or send an email.
This WCED admissions process applies to Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners in the Western Cape only.
How To Check WCED Application Outcome
- Go to the WCED admissions website
- Log in with your WCED login using your username and password
- Go to “Track Application Status"
- Select the name of the learner
- Under “Application Status”, it will inform the parent as to whether their application was a) Successful, b) Unsuccessful or c) Has been placed on the waiting list.
- The parent must then either “Withdraw” or “Confirm” their application.
Since the closing of the on-time WCED online application process on 14 April 2023, the Governing Body has been sorting out placements for next year.
The department has received over 160 000 WCED admissions applications for learners wanting to enter grade 1 and grade 8 in the 2024 school year. With parents having to apply to multiple schools, the total applications received is well over 500 000.
Western Cape Learning Crisis
A study rolled out by the Centre For Development and Enterprise (CDE) found that South Africa's public schools are the biggest learning under-performer relative to GDP per capita among low and middle-income countries. The Government has denied this, stating that these results are likely unbalanced.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) regularly tests the mathematics and reading abilities of learners in Grades 3, 6 and 9. The latest results have shown that more than half of learners were unable to achieve a pass in these tests.
With the release of the results of the Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study 2021, similar outcomes are expected.
Teachers state that the biggest issue they are seeing among South African learners is reading for comprehension. In February 2023, it was reported that an estimated 82% of Grade 4 learners were unable to read for meaning in any language.
"We have to act, and we have to act decisively, and we have to act in a way that has impact in order to deal with what is a full-blown learning crisis."
In response to the education crisis, the WCED has launched a R1.2 billion "#BackOnTrack" programme in an effort improve education outcomes in the province.
