THE South African government has been applauded for not heeding calls by locals and opposition politicians to remove undocumented migrant children from schools.
Zimbabweans form a unit of foreigners that include Mozambicans, Malawians and Somalis, which has over the past decades fallen victim to xenophobic vigilante groups chasing them out of South Africa.
This includes the infamous Dudula militia.
South Africans had of late escalated their campaign for the removal of children of undocumented migrants from schools threatening deportation to their countries.
Media reports from the neighbouring country state that South African opposition leader, Herman Mashaba, last week condemned government’s directive to allow children of undocumented foreigners, including Zimbabweans, to ago to school in that country.
For the 2025 academic year, however, South Africa’s Department of Basic Education ordered schools to admit all learners, regardless of their documentation status.
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Global Immigration and Legal Consultancy legal director Gabriel Shumba yesterday said although there might be issues regarding xenophobia in South Africa, government should be applauded for its human face stance.
“We should give plaudits where the government respects fundamental rights, especially those of children. The foundation of South Africa's Constitution is that the Bill of Rights protects citizens and all those that live in it. This is in consonance with regional and international laws,” Shumba said.
“We applaud the approach adopted by the Department of Education, following several rulings of the courts in this country. The Children’s Act and the Constitution state that the rights and best interests of the child are paramount in every scenario.”
Shumba said it should be recalled that there are many South Africans who were granted documents, lived and were educated in Zimbabwean learning institutions during the war against apartheid.
“This approach has to be welcome and we urge other African countries to respect the rights of children of school-going age in this fashion” he said.
“We need to add that it’s very unAfrican that there are parties that seek to divide, rather than unite. Why should children be punished for the decisions of parents and the failure of politicians on this tragic continent?”
Mashaba had urged government to remove irregular Zimbabwean immigrants’ children from SA schools.
According to the South African government memo, those set to benefit include students who fail to provide identification for the country’s matric years and undocumented foreign pupils.
Mashaba, who leads Action SA, said had he been in authority he would not have allowed any undocumented individual or learner to benefit from South Africa’s already strained resources.
He was speaking on South Africa’s national broadcaster SABC.
“We live in a country where a huge percentage of our public schools particularly in poor areas are dilapidated, in an environment where we do not have teachers, where our education system is dire,” Mashaba said.