Teachers’ unions have strongly defended the right of undocumented children to access public education, saying no child should be punished for the actions of their parents.
This comes after a public outcry sparked by newly gazetted draft regulations of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act, published for comment earlier this month.
On the other hand, formations like Operation Dudula have threatened to raid schools and remove pupils without documentation as of next year.
National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA (Naptosa) general secretary Basil Manuel said educators could not support the exclusion of undocumented children from accessing basic education.
“Insofar as people want to exclude children from schools, we could never support that . Children are not the makers of the problem; if parents are here illegally, can we then keep the children out of basic things like schooling? It’s just not on. And I can understand people getting excited about this, but we can’t possibly say it’s a good thing,” he said.
The regulations, among other things, clarify that all children living within SA’s borders, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, are entitled to admission into public schools.
The BELA Act, which aims to strengthen school governance and accountability, has been years in the making. Among its provisions are regulations addressing school admission policies and capacity management.
The new draft makes it clear that principals must admit learners even without valid documentation, but must report such cases within seven working days to the provincial head of department (HoD) or a designated district official.
“But as such, we are going to do all to ensure that these drafts do not deviate from what the Act is supposed to do. The Act is supposed to ensure that every child accesses their right to education.” – Sadtu spokesperson, Nomusa Cembi
It further states that the HoD is responsible for ensuring that parents of undocumented learners obtain proper documents such as birth certificates, while children continue to access education.
However, Manuel said registering undocumented pupils presents administrative challenges for schools, particularly principals who are tasked with reporting undocumented admissions to provincial departments.
Teachers cannot be expected to take on the role of law enforcement, he said.
“We don’t have the capacity as teachers to go chasing up forms in communities, et cetera. It’s not our role, and neither do we have the capacity to do that,” he explained.
South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said they were still studying the regulations but welcomed the government’s reaffirmation of universal access to education.
“First of all, the minister has issued those two draft regulations for public comment but I wouldn’t want to talk about the bits and pieces because we are [still] studying them.
“But as such, we are going to do all to ensure that these drafts do not deviate from what the Act is supposed to do. The Act is supposed to ensure that every child accesses their right to education,” said Cembi.
The department has called for submissions on the regulations by September 5, with civil society groups, school governing bodies and unions expected to weigh in.
