By: Phakeme Mnguni
The President of Dudula Operation, Zandile Dabula, has challenged the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education to hand over the database of all South African learners who are admitted at the Addington Primary School in Durban.
This is as tensions have risen at the said school after parents and civil society movements (mainly Dudula Operation and March and March) have been complaining and protesting outside the school, accusing it of admitting illegal immigrants’ children without papers.
“It shows that most parents whose children are admitted at this school are mostly foreigners, coming from different parts of Africa – Nigeria, Malawi, Zimbabwe, etc. – because they have been fighting, saying that their children will not leave the school.
“If the department claims that the majority of children admitted at this school are South Africans, then they should give us the proof and furnish us with the database clearly showing the numbers of SA pupils, and then we can rest. They can submit this to our legal team or the March and March legal team,” said Dabula.
Protesters claim that Addington Primary School has prioritised the admission of children of foreign nationals while failing to place South African pupils. Supporters of March and March allege that at least 60 South African children have applied for enrolment but have not been accommodated, including 40 pupils from families displaced by the 2022 floods.
March and March founder Jucinda Ngobese-Zuma said she suspects there is “foul play” in the admission figures provided by the school and the Department of Education.
A few weeks back tensions flared up when these movements were protesting outside the school during the registration, and the parents who are foreign nationals made it clear that their children deserve to be admitted, as they pay the school fees.
Meanwhile, the African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal has praised the provincial Department of Education for its prompt intervention in addressing learner admission issues at Addington Primary School. The party said the move helped restore stability and prevent disruptions to teaching and learning.
The intervention came after community concerns and protests over allegations that the school had prioritised undocumented foreign nationals over South African learners. The ANC added that such claims had caused unnecessary anxiety and risked destabilising the school environment.
