The Department of Higher Education and Training developed the Central Applications Clearing House (CACH) is assisting the matrics of 2020 with applications for learning opportunities.
The CACH service, first implemented in 2013, assists young people by providing career advice and possible placement in Post-School Education and Training System (PSET) system.
The service assists prospective students who have applied on time to their institution of choice but their application was turned down and it is too late for them to apply elsewhere. It will also assist those who have applied on time and meet the entry requirements based on their Grade 11 results, but who do not meet entry requirements when their Grade 12 results are released.
For the current financial year, the sign-up service will operate from Mondays to Fridays between 8am and 6pm, and Saturdays from 8am to 2pm.
The CACH service can help with placement at universities, Universities of Technology, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges and Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). It provides information about financial aid as well as career development services.
Also note:
⦁ CACH cannot guarantee any applicant a space to study.
⦁ CACH cannot determine when the institutions will contact the applicant for possible placement.
⦁ Late applicants will not be assisted by CACH but will be redirected or referred to Career Development Services (CDS) for assistance.
The CACH process explained in four different phases:
Phase 1: The PSET institution sends application data to the CACH system and refers applicants to contact or sign-up with CACH.
Applicants who have applied and have not received an offer of a space by the institutions they have applied to, can contact CACH via a standard SMS (SMS name and ID to 31629) or they can register or sign up online at cach.dhet.gov.za. You can also find out more on its Facebook page, which is CACH_SA.
Applicants who have not applied are referred to the Career Development services at the Department of Higher Education and Training.
Phase 2: When CACH receives an SMS, an agent will call an applicant back, free of charge, from the contact center and verify if the person called by asking three security questions. Thereafter the agents will register all requested details on the CACH database, indicating the learners' chosen field of study and the province they wish to study at.
Phase 3: The applicant’s personal details and matric results will be confirmed and automatically transferred to institutions of higher learning for possible admission and placement on confirmation by the applicant. The CACH service verifies the learner’s information before forwarding to institutions that still have available places.
Phase 4: Where places exist and applicants supplied by CACH meet the requirements, institutions will contact applicants directly to offer them available places.
To get in touch with CACH, use the following details: