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In November 2012, the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) approved that learner ID numbers are mandatory on LURITS, SA-SAMS and LURITS-accredited school management software. |
| 2. |
The mandatory ID number field will assist school principals with the admission policy requirement that parents must present the official birth certificate of their child when he or she is admitted to a school. |
| 3. |
Section 15 of the Admission Policy in the National Education Policy Act of 1996 states the following:
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"When a parent applies for the admission of a learner to an ordinary public school, the parent must present an official birth certificate of the learner to the principal of the public school. If a parent is unable to submit the birth certificate, the learner may be admitted conditionally until a copy of the birth certificate is obtained from the regional office of the Department of Home Affairs." |
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| 4. |
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has produced a set of guidelines (attached as Annexure A) to assist principals in helping learners to apply for birth certificates or study permits. |
| 5. |
To ensure that parents comply with the school admission policy, the DBE obtained the co-operation of the Department of Home Affairs who, at the school principal's request, is prepared to assist parents with their applications for the necessary school admission documents. |
| 6. |
Schools must capture the learner’s name(s), surname and ID number accurately, as they appear on the birth certificate or study permit, on the school’s computerised management system. Only text, and no numbers or special characters (unless they form part of the official name and surname, e.g. é or ö) is allowed in the name and surname fields. Entries such as Peter/John, Sarah-2006, Boni.Michael, etc. added to the names or surnames will be rejected by the computerised systems. This will ensure that learner data submitted to LURITS is complete and accurate. |
| 7. |
From January 2014 a facility is provided on CEMIS where principals should indicate which learners do not have ID numbers. Principals should use the "Conditional Acceptance" flag in order to complete the registration process where a learner has no ID number and the Home Affairs application process for an ID number has been initiated. |
| 8. |
Information on learners without birth certificates or study permits must also be captured, indicating that the application has been made for the relevant documentation, so that these learners may also to be uploaded to LURITS. In terms of section 21 of the national Admission Policy,
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"Persons classified as illegal aliens must, when they apply for admission for their children or for themselves, show evidence that they have applied to the Department of Home Affairs to legalise their stay in the country in terms of the Aliens Control Act, 1991 (Act 96 of 1991)".
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When the birth certificate or study permit is received, the learner’s data must be updated immediately on the school’s computerised system.
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| 9. |
All enquiries concerning the content of this circular may be directed to the relevant education district office. |
SIGNED: PA VINJEVOLD
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2014:03:06
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