So ever since we wrote about eMAP (Electronic Ministry Application Platform (eMAP), people have been communicating challenges with the system. I promised to follow up on the inquiries of the people on the comments section.

I would have responded to these on the comments section but I figured not everyone would be able to follow through the numerous comments, hence the resolution to write a separate post.

First things first,  I finally managed to get hold of the Ministry of Education and they assured me that the site is up and running. However, the only problem could be with the queries overload, that is to say too many people trying to access the site at the same time which in turn compromises the site’s performance.

I also have gathered a couple of suggestions from other people who were commenting on the site, so I will just incorporate those into this post as well.

Tips on the eMAP application:

1. Make sure you have a good, fast internet connection before starting the application process otherwise you’re likely to be timed out every now and then which is frustrating.

2. If you fail to connect during the day, try applying during odd hours (0000hrs to 0500hrs) when there is less traffic, with a good internet connection. The process should only take you 5 – 10 minutes.

3. If you fail to access the eMAP site with one browser e.g Google Chrome, switch to a different browser (some recommend Mozilla Firefox) or even try with a different gadget altogether.

4. Before you try anything else on the site, sign up for an account first. Go to the bottom of the page and click on “If you do not have an account, please sign up here” or click here.

5. Make sure you agree to the Terms and Conditions by selecting or clicking on the small little circle on the left of “I Agree With The Terms And Condition”.

6. You cannot edit on the site once you submit the form. However it’s not an irreversible deal, you can still send an email to mopsezw@gmail.com to make changes to the initial application. I would recommend you make sure you get a response or anything to confirm that the changes have been noted.

7. If you logged in and only managed to select 3 schools instead of the stipulated maximum of 5, make sure you log out and try again.

8. The deadline for the eMAP applications will be determined by the Grade 7 results release date. However, you might just want to apply as soon as you can seeing that the are only 24 246 places available of the potential demand of 367 629.

9. When and if all else fails, you can apply via a phone call to  +263-4-705153 or +263-4-705281 (the later worked for me). However, I say when all else fails because sometime it takes forever for your call to be picked up, which has it’s fair share of frustrations.