Education experts warn against illegal exclusion of foreign learners

CIVIL rights and education experts have warned that South African citizens have no legal right to pressure school principals to deny admission to children of foreign nationals, regardless of their immigration status.

- BONGAN HANS

The warning follows two weeks of protests at Addington Primary School in Durban, where organisations including March and March (MAM) and Operation Dudula joined local residents calling for South African children to be prioritised over foreign learners.

Professor Mary Metcalfe said the Department of Basic Education operates under the 2021 and 2025 school admission regulations, which state: “The right to education extends to everyone within the boundaries of South Africa, the nationality and immigration status is immaterial.”

“Principals cannot be put under pressure by parents to defy departmental instructions,” said Metcalfe.

She said opposition to the policy should be pursued through lawful channels, warning that schools could not discriminate on the basis of nationality.

“The obligatory legal framework that guides principals and department officials is that all public schools are required to admit all learners and serve their education requirements,” said Metcalfe.