Colonial Legacy: Foreign Learners Face Xenophobic School Exclusion in Durban

The ugly spectre of xenophobia has once again reared its head in post-apartheid South Africa, as protests at Addington Primary School in Durban expose the deep-seated prejudices that continue to plague our rainbow nation. For two weeks, organisations including March and March (MAM) and Operation Dudula have joined local residents in demanding that South African children be prioritised over foreign learners, revealing the toxic underbelly of our society's failure to truly embrace non-racialism.

This disturbing episode reflects the same exclusionary mindset that characterised apartheid education, where access was determined not by need or merit, but by racial and national identity. The irony is bitter: those who suffered under the Bantu Education system now seek to deny education to the most vulnerable among us.

Legal Framework Stands Against Discrimination

Professor Mary Metcalfe, a respected education expert, has categorically stated that the Department of Basic Education operates under clear 2021 and 2025 school admission regulations: "The right to education extends to everyone within the boundaries of South Africa, the nationality and immigration status is immaterial."

This principle represents a fundamental break from our apartheid past, where education was weaponised to maintain racial hierarchies. Yet the protesters at Addington Primary seem determined to resurrect these divisive practices under the guise of patriotism.

Metcalfe emphasised that "principals cannot be put under pressure by parents to defy departmental instructions," warning that schools could not discriminate based on nationality. The legal framework is unambiguous: all public schools must admit all learners regardless of their background.

Violence Erupts in Point Area

Tensions escalated into violence this week outside the school, located in Durban's Point area, a neighbourhood largely populated by foreign nationals. The clashes began after local parents, alleging their children were being sidelined, attempted to conduct a headcount of foreign learners, a practice reminiscent of apartheid-era racial classification.

The intervention of eThekwini Metro Police and SAPS officers to disperse the crowd highlights how quickly xenophobic sentiment can spiral into public disorder, threatening the very social cohesion our democracy depends upon.

Systemic Failures Fuel Xenophobia

Systems-oriented social justice activist Tracey Malawana correctly identified the root cause of this unrest: government failure to provide sufficient schools and classrooms. This infrastructural deficit forces communities to compete for limited resources, creating fertile ground for xenophobic scapegoating.

Malawana reminded residents that Section 29 of the South African Schools Act guarantees basic education to everyone in the country: "Children of foreign nationals, whether documented or undocumented, cannot lawfully be excluded from public schools."

She emphasised that "schools are not immigration enforcement sites," and denying education based on nationality constitutes unfair discrimination and rights violations.

Xenophobia Masquerading as Patriotism

Parents Association of KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Vee Gani courageously called out the protesters' xenophobia, noting there was no evidence that Addington Primary had prioritised foreign learners. Department reports confirm more South African children attend the school, exposing the protesters' claims as baseless fear-mongering.

Gani pointed out that some parents had simply missed application deadlines, suggesting the real issue lies in administrative failures rather than foreign "invasion."

However, MAM leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma remained defiant, rejecting concerns about traumatising children and insisting: "If they have not built more schools, they must prioritise South African children first." This zero-sum mentality reflects the same divisive logic that sustained apartheid.

Breaking the Cycle of Exclusion

The Addington Primary protests represent a critical test of our democratic values. Will we allow the failures of government infrastructure planning to divide us along national lines, or will we demand systemic solutions that serve all children?

Our liberation struggle was fought on the principle that education is a human right, not a privilege determined by accident of birth. To deny this right to foreign children is to betray the very values that brought us freedom.

The real enemy is not the foreign child seeking education, but the neoliberal policies that have failed to build sufficient schools for our growing population. Until we address these structural inequalities, xenophobic scapegoating will continue to poison our communities and undermine our hard-won democracy.