UDM criticises KwaZulu-Natal Education Department over unregistered schools

The United Democratic Movement (UDM) has attacked the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education for its inaction regarding unregistered schools, following a shocking revelation concerning the Matric Scholars Academy in Durban.

 This was after it was recently discovered that the school was not registered with the Department of Basic Education, leaving students and families devastated.

The UDM Secretary General Zandile Phiri expressed her dismay at the government's apparent negligence in safeguarding the educational future of countless learners.

“Families who paid thousands of rand in tuition and trusted that their children were properly enrolled for the National Senior Certificate examinations have now been left stranded by a system that no longer knows who is responsible for what,” she lamented.

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, in its defence, responded through spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi, asserting that the Matric Scholars Academy was a private school with students registered independently, without the department’s knowledge.

Mahlambi pointed out that the department issued media statements annually reminding parents to confirm a school's registration status, and placed the responsibility on families for failing to verify this essential information.

“Most of these learners are repeaters who understand how registration works from their time in public schools. The onus is on the owner of the private institution to seek registration or at least acknowledge to the learners whether their registration was denied or not,” Mahlambi explained.

He noted that the department was limited in its ability to accommodate students at this late stage, emphasising that registration for examinations was not an indefinite process.

Phiri's rebuttal to Mahlambi's claims was pointed and firm.

“The department should not demand vigilance from parents while withholding the very tools they need to make informed decisions,” she argued.

“This national embarrassment exposes a deeper collapse in how South Africa regulates education.

”She elaborated on the overlapping failures of educational bodies, with Umalusi regulating accreditation but lacking the power to close down illegal institutions, while the provincial government registers schools without sufficient verification.

“Learners are falling through the cracks while no one takes accountability,” Phiri stated, illustrating a bureaucratic failure that she believed required urgent reform.

Phiri also called for an overhaul of the Schools Act and Examinations Regulations to modernise the governance of private education, asserting that penalties for fraudulent schools should include criminal charges rather than mere apologies.

“The UDM calls for immediate arrangements to be made to allow the affected learners to complete their examinations under the supervision of the Department of Basic Education.

These young people cannot be punished for the failures of adults,” she concluded, highlighting the urgency and gravity of the situation.

In response to the UDM's demands, Mahlambi reiterated the department's commitment to following established processes and procedures.

While expressing sympathy for the affected learners, he stated that the opportunity for registration had a closing date, which limited their options for immediate solutions.

DAILY NEWS