Objectives: This paper reports on a school-based sealant programme carried out in a lower socio-economic community in an attempt to improve oral health status among school-going children. Methods: Caries risk assessment was conducted on 119 children (n=119) ranging from 6 to 13 years of age. Eighty four learners were identified as high to moderate risk for caries development (n=84). Sealants were then placed on newly erupted sound permanent molars with deepened and narrow fissures. Results: The results of caries risk assessment indicate that dental caries on primary molars is a major problem among learners (80% in Grade 1 learners). Unfilled resin-based sealants were placed on sound permanent molars using photopolymerisation. An evaluation conducted 6 months after placement indicated that 86% of Grade 1 learners had their sealants intact. 90% of Grade 2 learners and 99% of Grade 3 learners had sealant retention rates. 97% of Grade 4 children also showed success in fissure sealant retention. An evaluation of sealant retention among 38 learners after one year indicated that only 61% sealants were intact. Discussion: School-based fissure sealant programmes are an important catchment area for addressing unmet oral health in lower socio-economic settings. The findings suggest that Grade 2 learners would be the most appropriate group to target for a fissure sealant programme since all first molars would have erupted and early intervention would prevent the caries process. Conclusion: A sealant programme is an important public health intervention that should be entered into policy discussions at district, provincial and national levels of oral health planning.