from NJABULO MKHIZE in Durban, South Africa
KwaZulu Natal Bureau
DURBAN, (CAJ News) – THE Department of Basic Education has dismissed as outright false the claims by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and her so-called March-to-March movement that foreign learners are “overrunning” South African schools, warning that such rhetoric fuels dangerous xenophobia, vigilantism, and community hatred.
In a statement issued on Thursday evening, the office of Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube categorically rejected what it described as baseless, unfounded, and deliberately misleading allegations.
The department clarified that 98.2 percent of learners enrolled in public schools across South Africa were South African citizens, while foreign learners accounted for only 1.8 percent of the total school population.
“These assertions are patently false and unsupported by any credible evidence,” the department stated. “Any attempt to use the education sector as a platform for scapegoating, social division, or political opportunism must be unequivocally rejected. Such actions endanger peaceful community relations and, most importantly, threaten the dignity, safety, and wellbeing of children.”
The department further explained that the small percentage of foreign learners includes children of diplomats, professionals, academics, United Nations staff, and other legally resident families whom South Africa is obligated to host under international law.
Contrary to claims by March-to March organisers and other vigilantism organisations, these learners are not unlawfully occupying school spaces nor displacing South African children.
Of grave concern is the conduct of the March-to-March group, which has staged intimidation campaigns outside Durban schools, threatening pupils and educators under the guise of “community action.”
Despite the availability of vacancies across multiple schools in Durban Central, the group has inexplicably targeted a single primary school with a high number of undocumented learners—most of whom are South African children lacking birth certificates due to failures within the Department of Home Affairs.
Education officials warned that this reckless misidentification of undocumented South African children as “foreigners” amounts to a dangerous witch-hunt.
“Schools must remain spaces of learning, inclusion, dignity, and safety,” the department said. “They must never become arenas for intolerance, fearmongering, or disinformation.”
The department reaffirmed that South Africa’s Constitution and education laws are unequivocal: every child within the country’s borders has the right to basic education, regardless of nationality or documentation status. It stressed that schools and educators are not immigration enforcement agencies, and that border control is the responsibility of national authorities, not school principals.
Several commentators have condemned the movement’s tactics.
Andile Gogoda praised Addington Primary School for complying with the law by enrolling 17 undocumented learners, the majority of whom are South African.
“Jacinta is deliberately inflating numbers by counting South African children without birth certificates as foreigners,” Gogoda said. “They are protesting against their own neighbours’ children.”
Gogoda further alleged that protesters forcibly shut school gates, hurled xenophobic slurs, and demanded immediate documentation—actions he described as unlawful and traumatising to children.
Other observers warned of broader societal dangers.
Alex Smith noted that millions of South Africans, particularly in rural areas, lack identity documents and risk being falsely labelled as foreigners. “This path leads to tribalism and internal conflict,” he said.
Uncle Tau added that the protests appeared staged, claiming that many demonstrators were hired and unemployed individuals.
“There are nearly 20 primary schools in Durban Central,” he said. “Yet they chose only one. That tells you this is not about education—it’s about sowing hatred.”
The Department of Basic Education has urged political leaders, civil society, and the media to act responsibly, warning that xenophobia and vigilantism fracture communities that have long lived together peacefully.
“True leadership fosters unity, not fear,” the department said. “We must reject misinformation before it poisons our society.”
– CAJ News