ONLINE SCHOOL APPLICATION AND ADMISSION

PORTAL

Name: Ndwandwe Phathizwe Tebenguni

Student ID: 202002833

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF ESWATINI

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Introduction………………………………………………………………. 3

Problem Statement……………………………………………………….. 4

Aims and objectives of study………………………………………….….. 5

Justification of study……………………………………………………… 6

Structure of the project…………………………………………………..... 6

Chapter summery…………………………………………………………. 7

Chapter 2

Literature review…………………………………………………………... 8

Definition of a portal……………………………………………..…….… 10

The effect of using a portal………………………………………………... 10

Chapter 3

Methodology ……………………………………………………….……. 12

Chapter 4

Software requirements ……………………………………………………… 15

Hardware requirements ……………………………………………………… 16

System Architecture …………………………………………………………. 17

References………………………………………………………………..…… 20

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 CHAPTER 1

1.1 Introduction

Eswatini, previously known as Swaziland is a third world country that is located in the southern
part of Africa with four regions namely Shiselweni, Manzini, Hhohho and Lubombo. The
country has a total population of 1,195,393 million people as of the 11th of June 2023 according
to United Nations data. 43% of the population is children under the age of 17.

Education in Eswatini is also believed to be the key that enables one to open doors and use their
brains to their maximum capacity. The levels of education in Eswatini include pre-school,
primary school, secondary, high school, universities and tertiary level. Preschool is normally for
children that are 6 years and younger, primary school going kids are normally 7 years to 14 and
secondary to high school is normally 14 to 18 years of age. University or tertiary students are
usually above 18 or even much older.

There are 830 public/government schools in Eswatini including primary, secondary and high
schools. There are 34 recognized private schools and 14 unrecognized (Ministry of
Education,2014). There is also adult and non-formal educational centers like Sebenta and
Emlalatini. St Joseph school is for children with disabilities as well as vocational training for
adults.

According to the Macmillan English dictionary for advanced learners, admission is defined as a
permission to join a club or become a student at a college or university. A school web application
is a digitized way of student application and enrolment process software that is accessed using a
web browser. The system will allow applications remotely, collect documents, capture students’
information and return a response to the applicant.

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With this huge percentage of children attending school, parents suffer the challenge of finding
the appropriate or desired school for their children to pursue their studies. Parents travel from
region to region in search for a place for their children all to be told that there is no space
available. Money and time is greatly wasted during the tiresome time of the academic year.

1.2 Problem Statement / Statement of the problem

With the huge numbers of children illegible to attend school especially after the introduction of
Free Primary Education in 2010 and the Orphaned and vulnerable children scheme (OVC),
parents and guardians go through a tedious process of finding the approached or desired school
for their children to pursue their studies especially in public schools. They travel from one region
to another in search for a place for their children only to be told that there is no space available.
Money and time are greatly wasted during the tiresome time of the academic year.

The main problem is to apply and acquire a place for children to study. This becomes a great
challenge especially for children going to secondary and high school. Tertiaries and universities
suffer the same challenge.

In the beginning of the year or academic year parents and children suffer the challenge of
applying and getting an admission at the school they wish to attend in. Many parents spend both
time and money trying to get admission at the school they prefer but it all becomes in vain as
they do not even get a proper response from their application often.

Some parents visit schools unaware of their specific criteria for admission, which leads to a
whole loop of visiting schools with no idea of whether you qualify or not.

This situation does not only devastated parents and children, the school’s administration too. The
staff is usually faced with uncontrollably long queues of parents pleading for an admission of
their kids. At this point the situation is dire, many children have passed very well and parents
have managed to get a loan or get money from their savings just for their children to study at a
particular school.

Noticing the thousands of applications that are received in one school each year, the process of
collecting, selecting and finally admitting students is very cumbersome for the staff. This lengthy
and challenging phase holds down the entire school.

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You can imagine the depression that parents suffer during the process of applying especially
when there are multiple rejections, since they apply not knowing where they stand in the first
place. The great deal of resources (time and money) being wasted takes its toll. Some students
even lose a great deal of time and end up acquiring schools at a much later date and end up
losing learning time and having to catch up.

It is still a major challenge that in most schools in Eswatini they still use the paper system. An
online system would totally remove the bulky paper system and introduce a paperless system.
The paperless system will be much easier to handle in terms of searching for specific
applications and updating fields.

1.3 Aim and objective of study

Main Aim:

The goal of the project is to develop an online application system to enable applicants to apply to
various schools from a central place eliminating unnecessary travelling and queues, while saving
resources such as money and time.

The Objectives of this study are to:

1. Timely response. The system will ensure that applicants receive their responses regarding
placements quicker based on the duration of applying.
2. So to enable easier access to the majority of schools. Well, as mentioned Eswatini has
more than 840 schools, that is when you need to find schools near you or even search for
a specific school the system will enable that. Even when one particular school rejects
your application there is no limit to specific school you can apply to.
3. One will know the criteria before attempting to apply to a school as there will be a brief
description for each school courtesy of the school administration, and also if there are
spaces available in that specific school making it easier to know where one stands before
applying.
4. In order for convenient communication between schools and parents. There may be cases
of late notices, or even loss of communication between the two parties. So when schools

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 are able to make announcements across a platform that will ensure parents get it then
there wouldn't be an excuse of loss in communication.
5. An online school application system will introduce a paperless opportunity for the school.
The school will simply manage their applications in the system instead of storing these
bulky application papers that end up not stored or kept safely and secure.

1.4 Justification of the study

The way education is treasured should be the same way even access to it must be prioritized
meaning the inability to acquire a desired school can be taunting. It's every child's right to basic
education hence no child should be left out when it comes to education.

An online school application will offer a similar admission experience irrespective of the
location or child’s background. At the same time the admission process will be seamless and
errors free since human efforts are now reduced. Students and parents can be sent timely updates
of the process. For the sake of a good record system, this paperless system will help maintain
integrity of information while it will be easy and quickly to access applicants’ files.

The online application and admission portal will bring an opportunity to explore and experience
a web based application to schools, parents and students in Eswatini. The portal will provide a
database with data on applicants, for instance, how many children applied, how many were
admitted, how many were rejected and why. The portal will also track applicants for program
placement and alert applicants not admitted to their school of choice of other school admission
openings in the region.

1.5 Structure of the Project

Chapter two highlights the literature review for the project. The literature review fills in gaps and
extends prior studies. Here we explore what has already been done. We look into the results of
other online applications systems that were previously developed. Different projects or
researches that are in line with ours are compared. We understand and appreciate the importance
of the study.

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Chapter three is about the methods that were used in conducting this project. The methodology
includes the data collection models used and why. In this project we will use questionnaires,
interviews to see the demand of the online application for schools. The tools used will be word
documents and the interviews will be recorded.

1.6 Chapter Summary

Every problem mentioned and that exist will be effectively addressed, and all the aims and
objectives shall be achieved. Online school application in Eswatini, the people will be relieved to
have a convenient school application portal that can be accessed remotely especially because of
the whole frustration bought by school scouting at the beginning of the year.

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 CHAPTER TWO

Literature Review

According to Kaur et al. (2015), the Panjabi University in India created and put into place a
“dimensional model admission system” in 2014. It proposed a conceptual framework to create
tools that could be used to assess quality, carry out analyses and diagnostics, gauge adherences to
curricula and syllabus trends, and offer the necessary information. A hybrid model of admission
was also created, developed and adopted by IGNOU in 2015 and is currently operating
extremely successfully alongside the offline admission method. Enrolling through the OAS of
IGNOU for higher education and lifetime learning has benefited a huge number of students.

Research studies by Alotaibi, et al (2016) on admission system in the Saudi universities, reveal
that the current admission system in these universities is not comprehensive and it is not a
friendly approach to applicants. In this context, they recommend using the modern perspectives
related to decision support systems, so as to improve the efficiency of the admission system in
the Saudi universities.

The procedure to study at Indian universities is extremely complicated because it takes into
account a number of both concrete and abstract variables. For this reason, colleges and
institutions continue to experience with cutting-edge technologically advanced admission
procedures. For instance, the ‘Single Window Admission System’ is used at Anna University
Counseling for the admission of students to the Tamil Nadu Engineering program. It is a
procedure through which students who have completed the 12 th grade apply for admission to
different engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu, India (Sankarasubramanian, et al., (2014).

Muralidhar, et al. (2013) state that the e-governance centralized admission has demonstrated to
be workforce-saving and cost effective when researching the implementation of OAS at
Bangalore University. This approach is quicker and has a bigger fee advantage over the manual
one. According to Kaur et al. (2015), the technologically enhanced conceptual model of

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admission also aids in the development of data warehouses that can be used for future planning
and decision making.

The uptake of ICT is still at a lower level in Africa, online school application and admission
portals were first introduced in Africa in the early 2000s. One of the earliest online school
application and admission portals in Africa was the University of Cape Town’s online
application system, which was launched in 2002. Other early adopters of online application and
admission portals included the University of Ghana, the University of Nairobi and the University
of Lagos. The adoption of online school application and admission portals in Africa have been
motivated by a number of reasons, including internet access, cost of printing and mailing
application material and also cost of travelling.

In Tanzania the establishment of a web based admission system is one of the greatest innovations
for monitoring and controlling quality of admission into technical and tertiary education.
Additionally, it has the potential for evaluating the applicants’ quality, standards of entry
requirements and controlling the widening access to higher educational institutions. African
countries like Nigeria, Lesotho, Eswatini etc. use decentralized application and admission
models.

"Online Application System for Admission in Private Universities: A Case Study of Kampala
University, Uganda" by N. Mbabazi, J. Mwesigye, and E. Nakimuli (2022). This study
investigated the use of an online application system for admission in private universities in
Uganda. The study found that the system was effective in increasing the number of applications,
reducing the time and cost of processing applications, and improving the transparency of the
admission process.

"The Implementation of Online-Based New Student Admissions in Surakarta" by A. Wicaksono,

A. Sulistijowati, and R. A. Nugroho (2018). This study examined the implementation of an
online-based new student admissions system in Surakarta, Indonesia. The study found that the
system was effective in increasing the efficiency and transparency of the admission process.
However, the study also found that the system faced some challenges, such as technical problems
and a lack of user awareness.

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Tejaswini, Deb, Michelle and Alvino (2015) defined Portal as an application (more likely web-
based), that provides capabilities for multiple users with different permission levels to manage
(all or a section of) content, data or information of a website project, or internet/application.
Looney and Lyman (2000) sees the portal as a platform for organizations – universities, colleges,
companies to leverage on and for efficient communication and other in-house operations. Portals
are a convenient way to access a variety of information and services on the internet. Portals may
include government, intranet, extranet, and learning portals. Web Portal, according to Strauss
(2000), creates an avenue for electronic registration or e-registration, or even online registration.
It is a secure website that students can access from anywhere with an internet connection.

Definition of a portal

A portal is a web-based platform that collects information from different sources into a single
user interface and presents users with the most relevant information for their context. Portals can
be used for a variety of purposes, like centralizing information and service access, improving
collaboration and communication and automating tasks. Portals are a convenient way to access a
variety of information and services on the internet. Portals may include government, intranet,
extranet and learning portals.

The effects of using an application portal

Corroboratively, Katz (2002) in describing the impacts of E-Portal posits that portal is seen as a
system to get the institutions organized to better form lifelong impressions. It enables university
information system users to communicate with the university information sub-systems securely.
According to web evaluations conducted by The Commonwealth of Learning in 2002, it was
demonstrated that there is a range of web portals currently available. The various categories into

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which these portals fit are Networking Portals, Organizational Portals, and Resource-based
Portals. Networking Portals is a web portal that provides various individuals (educators, learners,
managers, and administrators) with a central point from which to access various educational
tools and facilities (online and offline).

An online survey conducted by Secreto and Pamulaklakin (2015) for 147 continuing
undergraduate and graduate students who were admitted prior to the implementation of the portal
and thus had experienced both the manual and online processes shows that about 85 per cent of
those who participated in the survey were either very satisfied or satisfied with their overall
experience of the portal. Ninety per cent of the total participants found the portal cost-effective
and informative.

A study by JISC RSC (Regional Support Centre) London on behalf of the Excellence Gateway
published in 2008 on Richmond Adult Community College Using Technology to make a step in
business efficiency and responsiveness, was to see how the college could use new technology on
the business side; first, the priority was to use new technologies to reduce transaction costs
between the college and the public.

Online school application and admission portal is becoming increasingly common. In developed
countries (e.g. United Kingdom, France, etc.), the admission into tertiary institutions and schools
are centralized. In the sense that, colleges or schools receive applications through a web portal
and applicants are not required to collect and fill the physical form, rather they would only visit
the admission website of a particular school or college, and all eligibility criteria are mentioned
on the site (Ochwa-ECHEL;2016).

Online school application portals are the most efficient, accessible, affordable and
environmentally friendly platform for acquiring admission for students. In India, online
application and admission bought convenience to the people, parents and students do not need to
travel long distances. Students can apply to school from anywhere in India, at any time of the
day or night to multiple schools.

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 Chapter Three

Methodology

The project's objective is to create an online application system that will let candidates apply to
numerous schools from one central location, regardless of where they are.

In this project several approaches will be used as the research methods and then there will be the
main methodology that will be followed. The research methods to be used in this project include
empirical research and qualitative research. The research tools to be used are questionnaires and
interviews. Information will be collected by paper or online (emails). Interviews will be done
physically or virtually (zoom or Google meet).

Interviews can be used to gather more detailed information from fewer participants. Participants
can be questioned in interviews about their specific experiences using online portals, their
opinions on the advantages and difficulties of using online portals, and their suggestions for
making online portals better.

Empirical research is a way of gaining knowledge by means of direct and indirect observation or
experience. The use of web portals by students and school authorities can be observed through
observational studies. Observational studies can be performed to pinpoint portions of the portal
that are simple or complex to use, as well as pinpoint improvements that could be made.
Throughout my school life, I have moved from one school to another and I always knew that I
will struggle to apply and get admitted at a school. So, this research method was not only
observed but I experienced it. Many people can actually agree to this challenge.

Like in every process where there needs to be input that is being processed in order to produce an
output, even the online application portal is no different since it is also a system. The approach in
developing the online application portal to be used is the Prototyping Software Development

The Prototyping model is a software development life cycle model in which prototype is built,
tested, and reworked until an acceptable prototype is achieved. It also creates base to produce the

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final system or software. This model suggests building a working Prototype of the system, before
the development of the actual software. A prototype is a toy and crude implementation of a
system. It has limited functional capabilities, low reliability, or inefficient performance as
compared to the actual software. A prototype can be built very quickly by using several shortcuts
by developing inefficient, inaccurate or dummy functions.

Software Prototyping is most useful in development of systems having high level of user
interactions such as online systems. Systems which need users to fill out forms or go through
various screens before data is processed can use prototyping very effectively to give the exact
look and feel even before the actual software is developed.
Software that involves too much of data processing and most of the functionality is internal with
very little user interface does not usually benefit from prototyping. Prototype development could
be an extra overhead in such projects and may need lot of extra efforts.

Phases of the Prototyping model

1. Requirements gathering and analysis- In this phase, the requirements of the system are
defined in detail. During the process, the users of the system are interviewed to know
what their expectation from the system is. In the case of online application portal there
are two types of users: parents or students and school admissions. These two different
users need to be asked what they would like to be achieved by the system and that would
eventually lead to the determination of the requirements for each user. These includes:
questionnaires and interviews which are the tools to be used.
2. Quick design-In this stage, a simple design of the system is created. However, it is not a
complete design. It gives a brief idea of the system to the user. The quick design helps in
developing the prototype. Meaning you create something almost similar to a pseudocode
in order to create an algorithm in simple terms that anyone can understand.
3. Build a prototype-In this phase, an actual prototype is designed based on the information
gathered from quick design. It is a small working model of the required system. Now the
prototype to be tested is actually designed. In that, the prototype is used and presented.
4. Initial user evaluation-In this stage, the proposed system is presented to the client for an
initial evaluation. It helps to find out the strength and weakness of the working model. In

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 that, the intended user is involved and their comments are noted in order to improve the
system.
5. Refining prototype- If the user is not happy with the current prototype, you need to
refine the prototype according to the user's feedback and suggestions. This phase will not
over until all the requirements specified by the user are met. Once the user is satisfied
with the developed prototype, a final system is developed based on the approved final
prototype.
6. Implement product and maintain- Once the final system is developed based on the
final prototype, it is thoroughly tested and deployed to production. The system undergoes
routine maintenance for minimizing downtime and prevents large-scale failures.

Prototyping software model is the methodology to specify the techniques used to identify, select,
process and analyze every single important information and requirements of the online
application portal. It prioritizes the users and their needs than completion of the system and
ensuring that every single objective is achieved. This model saves a lot of time and money
because all the defects of the system are detected earlier from the prototype that leaves room for
improvement in the actual system and that means both users of the online application portal can
get the full experience. Although, this method has risk of insufficient requirement analysis owing
too much dependency on prototype. Meaning since the prototype is used as a model to test the
environment where the actual system will be implemented, truth is that it is not the actual system
and hence it does not cater the actual size of the system so depending too much on a prototype
should be avoided. Still the fact remains, prototyping model gives quicker feedback.

Online application portal is a system that demands high level of user interaction, so it must be
efficient whenever it is accessed.

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 Chapter 4

The Online School Application and Admission Portal is designed to streamline the process of
applying to schools and managing admissions. This comprehensive system allows students,
parents and administrators to conveniently access and manage all aspects of the application and
admission process through a user-friendly web interface. To ensure the effective implementation
of this online platform, it is important to consider the software requirements, hardware
requirements and system architecture.

Software Requirements

Functional Software Requirements

1. User Registration: this will allow users (parents and students) to create accounts for the
application portal.
2. Application form: provides an online form for users to fill out and submit their
application details.
3. Document Upload: allow applicants to upload supporting documents for their application
like, academic records and recommendation letters.
4. Application Status Tracking: provide applicants with the ability to track the status of their
application throughout the admission process.
5. Notification and Communication: send automated notifications to applicants regarding
important updates or requests for additional information.
6. Application review And Evaluation: Provide a platform for administrators to review and
evaluate submitted applications.

Non-Functional Software Requirements

1. Security: ensure that the application portal is secure, with measures such as
encryption, user authentication, and data privacy protection.
2. Scalability: design the system to handle a large number of concurrent users and
accommodate future growth in user base.

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 3. Performance: optimize the application portal to provide fast response time and
minimize loading delays.
4. Usability and User Experience: create an intuitive and user-friendly interface for
applicants and administrators to navigate and interact with the system.
5. Reliability and Availability: Implement measures to ensure the system is reliable and
available, with minimum downtime or disruptions.
6. Compatibility: ensure compatibility with different web browsers, operating systems,
and devices to provide a seamless experience for all users.

Hardware Requirements

1. Server Infrastructure: a server to host the application and handle incoming requests. The
server should have sufficient processing power, memory, and storage capacity to handle
the expected user traffic and data storage requirements.
2. Database Server: to sore and manage application data, the database technology to be used
is MySQL.
3. Storage: sufficient storage capacity is needed to store application files, user uploads, and
other relevant data. That will consider initial storage requirements and future scalability.
4. Networking: a reliable network infrastructure is necessary to ensure smooth
communication between different components of the system, as well as to handle
incoming and outgoing network traffic efficiently.
5. Backup and Disaster recovery: implementing a backup and disaster recovery strategy is
crucial to protect the system and its data. This may involve regular backups, redundant
storage, and mechanisms for quick recovery in case of failures or data loss.
6. Security Measures: hardware requirements for security may include firewalls, intrusion
detection systems, SSL certificates, and other hardware components to ensure the
security of user data and protect against cyber threats.

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System Architecture

1. User Interface Layer:

-Web or mobile-based interface for students, parents and administrators to interact with
the system.

-Provides functionality for creating accounts, logging in, submitting applications,

paying fees, etc.
-Supports different access levels based on user roles.
2. Application Processing Layer.
-Handles the processing of submitted applications.
-Validates application data and checks eligibility criteria.
-Generates unique applications IDs and maintains application status.
3. Database Layer:

-Stores various types of data such as student information, schools information ,fee structures,
etc.

-Consists of multiple tables/entities for efficient storage and retrieval.

-Utilizes a relational database management system like MySQL.

4. Authentication and Authorization Layer.

-Manages user authentication and authorization processes.
-Ensures secure access to sensitive information by verifying user credentials.
-User encryption techniques to protect stored passwords.

5. Notification Services Layer:

- Sends automated notifications via email or SMS throughout the admission process (e.g.,
application submission confirmation, acceptance/rejection letters).
- Keeps applicants informed about important updates and deadlines.

6. Integration Layer:

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 - Interfaces with other existing systems within the school ecosystem (e.g., student
information system) for seamless data exchange and integration.

7. Reporting & Analytics Layer:

- Generates reports on key metrics such as admission statistics, enrollment trends, etc.
- Provides insights into the effectiveness of recruitment strategies and helps in decision-
making processes.

8. Infrastructure Layer:

- Hosts servers, networking equipment, databases, etc., required to run the application.
- Utilizes cloud-based services or on-premises infrastructure based on scalability and
budget requirements.

9. Security Layer:

- Implements various security measures like firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and
regular security audits to protect against unauthorized access and attacks.

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Journal of Education and Social Science, 3(3):7-18.
2. Kaur, A., & Hasija, S. (2015). A Conceptual Model of Admission System and Performance
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3. Alotaibi, A., Ayesh, A., & Hall, R. (2016). Managing Admission in Saudi Universities: a System
Approach. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 6 (4), 314.
4. Sankarasubramanian, B., Rathinakumar, M., Balakrishnan, B., & Bharathwajan, R.N. (2014). An
Automated Implementation of Indian University Admission System Using Artificial Neural
Networks. ICTACT Journal on Soft Computing, 4 (3).
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Commonwealth of Learning.

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10. Secreto, P. and Pamulaklakin, R. (2015). Learners’ Satisfaction Level with Online Student Portal
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