The Department of Basic Education released a statement on Friday, 01 October 2021 announcing the extension of the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) from the initial deadline of the 3^rd of October 2021 to midnight, the 10^th of October 2021, for phase II (2) applications.

The Department also announced that since opening applications on the 27^th of September 2021 they have received over 1.7 million applications from 330 000 young people which is an exponential growth by 700 000 compared to the previous 24-hour period. In their statement, the department stated that they have added another web-based/electronic application form in addition to the SA youth mobi-site to reduce the high traffic volumes it has been experiencing causing it to slow down and occasionally timeout.

According to department of basic education, applications submitted online via the zero-rated sayouth.mobi site are for efficiency in the data collection and management, which has been centralised to enable fairness in the recruitment and application process. The department has instructed applicants to use the form on https://sayouth.me/DBE with only 3mb of data needed to complete the form if they are still unable to apply on the mobi site.

The Department of Basic education has also re-iterated that all applicants must submit all their applications online as no walk-ins to schools will be allowed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Applicants who need help to apply online have been instructed to approach their nearest NYDA office or community library with internet connectivity for assistance.

NO applications will be accepted after the October 10^th deadline and youth aged between 18 and 35 neither in education/training nor receiving any form of government grant including young men and women with disability are also eligible for application.