Zimbabwean pupil’s exclusion from school challenged by parents

THE Western Cape Education Department (WCED) says it is probing reasons a Zimbabwean pupil was rejected at a primary school in Thembalethu, George, following allegations by his parents that the school said it prioritises South African children.

Gloria Newa told the Cape Times she first started applying for placement at the school in 2019.

“I applied for my child to attend Grade 1 and was told there was no space and we left it at that. I tried again last year before lockdown. He was accepted and when the school opened this year he attended.

“He started going to school in February. He was there for three weeks, then after that period the school called my husband and said the child cannot attend anymore because the school is only for South Africans,” she said.

Newa, who works as a cleaner, said she has since found a school for her son, but it was far from their home.

“My child will be turning nine years old in July and he is still doing Grade 1 because I have been trying to register him at the school since he was seven.

“The school is perfect for my child because it is closest to our home. My husband has been here in South Africa for 12 years and I have been here for seven years, but I think maybe it is their school’s rules that they don’t take children who are not from South Africa,” she said.

The school referred questions to the department.

The WCED said it was “investigating the reasons for the non-acceptance of the learner”.

South African Communist Party (SACP) Southern Cape district secretary Langa Langa said the child being denied access to the school even after the parents applied and followed the proper channels was unacceptable.

“The gist of my concern is how come they are saying the child cannot get placement because he is a foreign national. That to me is one of the gravest things that one could ever hear.

“Our Constitution in this country allows for any person within the soil of South Africa to be governed and to be subjected to the Constitution of this country. If there’s any veracity to this matter, whoever is responsible must be taken to task and they must answer,” he said.