Addington Primary protest: MEC Hlomuka flags Grade 8s on displaced learner list

KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka has taken a hard line against protest action at Addington Primary School, accusing the protest organisers of recklessly submitting incorrect and unverified learner lists to the school while disrupting education and traumatising learners and teachers.

There have been ongoing protests by March and March and Operation Dudula, outside the Durban CBD school, who claim that children of foreign nationals had been given placement at the school while local children had not been admitted.

The groups have argued that local children must be given preference for placement.

The MEC revealed that the department received a list of 66 learners from March and March, demanding the learners' placement at the school, despite what he said were factual errors.

The organisation had earlier claimed that children displaced by floods, who are currently living in the Durban CBD, were among those that needed to be placed. 

While Hlomuka did not address the issue of these learners, he said the list provided by March and March included learners who were already enrolled elsewhere and some were placed in the wrong grades.

“Out of that 66, five of the learners that were brought here from that list were already past Grade 7 to Grade 8,” he said.

Hlomuka said some learners were effectively being displaced from their schools and pushed into inappropriate placements.

Calling the conduct irresponsible, Hlomuka said the protests were being driven by misinformation rather than facts.

“I’m just demonstrating that we’re dealing with people who don’t verify information, who just engage on things that they want to do,” he said.

Claims around undocumented learners dismissed

The MEC also addressed claims that undocumented learners were driving pressure on the school, saying the facts told a very different story.

“The school has enrolled 17 undocumented learners,” Hlomuka said. “Again the majority of the undocumented learners are South Africans.”

According to the department, 12 of those learners are undocumented South Africans, while only five are undocumented foreign nationals.

Hlomuka further stressed that foreign learners at the school are legally in the country and must be admitted in terms of the law.

“They are here in South Africa legally,” he said. “If they are here in South Africa legally we don’t have any option but to take their children.”

He said the law is explicit.

“Any children that are in the land of South Africa must be admitted. They must go to school,” he said.

Hlomuka said the department would not allow schools to become platforms for social conflict.

“We will not allow schools to be misused as sites of social conflict,” he said. “Schools exist for one purpose: teaching and learning.”

He said the department would act decisively against any conduct that undermines safety.

“Any action that disrupts education, intimidates learners, or compromises the safety of educators and school staff is unacceptable and will be dealt with decisively,” Hlomuka said.

Warning on timing and impact

The MEC warned that the disruptions were taking place at a critical time for the province’s education system.

“The timing of such disruption is particularly concerning as KwaZulu-Natal is working tirelessly to consolidate improvement in learner outcomes and matric performance,” he said.

“Our progress must not be overshadowed by the disorder and those who are trying to dent the future of our learners.”

He urged parents and communities to ignore rumours and rely only on verified information.

“We call on the public in general and the parents and the guardians in particular to rely only on the official communication from the school and the department,” he said, warning against “rumours circulated through social media or informal channels.”

Hlomuka concluded by commending officials working to stabilise the situation.

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