All children have right to education regardless of documentation status, says GDE

The Gauteng Department of Education said all children have a right to an education, regardless of whether they are documented or not.

On Monday, Operation Dudula members went to various schools in Soweto, dropping off memorandums that they must stop enrolling foreign undocumented children.

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In 2019, the Constitutional Court handed down a ruling that stated all children in South Africa have a right to education, regardless of their immigration or documentation status.

Gauteng Educationspokesperson Steve Mabona had a tense stand-off with Operation Dudula members as he explained the implications of this ruling.

“There's a court judgement which says to us a child must be in a class, whether documented or undocumented and it's upon us to ensure as a department, we work very closely with all the affected parties, be it parents and make sure we assist them.”

However, Operation Dudula's president, Zandile Dabula, was not accepting the explanation.

“Why is the department not fighting back because it is your responsibility as a department to fight back because you guys are promoting illegality.”

The Department of Education has warned Operation Dudula against disrupting schools, saying it will call the police on them.