Vodacom Business and GDE Streamline School Admissions with Digital Platform
Vodacom Business, in a successful collaboration with the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), has announced the remarkable outcomes of its upgraded Online Admissions platform for the 2026 academic year. This partnership underscores the power of technology in transforming public services and simplifying critical processes for citizens. The enhanced platform was designed to provide a seamless and stress-free application experience for parents and guardians seeking Grade 1 and Grade 8 placements for their children, showcasing a significant step forward in South Africa’s digital education infrastructure. The initiative has proven to be a resounding success, handling a massive volume of applications efficiently from the moment it went live.
A Record-Breaking Application Cycle
The advanced Online Admissions platform, which launched on 24 July 2025, demonstrated its capacity and stability immediately. Within the first hour of opening, the system successfully registered over 78,000 applications. This momentum continued throughout the day, with the platform processing more than 210,000 applications by the end of day one. By the close of the registration period, a total of 820,350 applications had been successfully processed, a testament to the system’s robustness. Videsha Proothveerajh, Vodacom Business Director, commented on the long-standing collaboration, stating, “Vodacom Business has been a longstanding technology partner to the GDE. The project gave us the opportunity to provide our digital expertise to enhance the country’s education system. For parents, applying to schools can be an incredibly stressful process. Our aim for the platform was to support parents better and ensure that the application journey was simple while supporting the department’s goal of improving operations.”
The successful management of such a high volume of applications highlights the platform’s effectiveness in digitizing and streamlining the admissions process. This achievement not only alleviates administrative burdens for the GDE but also provides parents with a reliable and accessible tool. The collaboration between Vodacom Business and the GDE serves as a powerful example of how public-private partnerships can leverage technology to deliver impactful solutions that directly benefit the community and enhance the efficiency of the education sector in the region.
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