‘Extraordinary measures’ taken to resolve Addington Primary School admissions crisis

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education said it had taken “extraordinary measures” to resolve the Addington Primary School dispute.

For two weeks, parents and community members have protested outside the school, demanding placement for their children. They cite the school’s walkable distance, arguing that alternative placements require unaffordable transport costs and higher fees, noting that many families are unemployed.

On Thursday, KZN Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka, Head of Department Nkosinathi Ngcobo, uMlazi District Director Busi Mahlambi, and others visited the school to monitor admissions and school functionality and provide a provincial update.

Hlomuka said the department rejects the misleading and dangerous claims being spread to mobilise the public: 

1. False and dangerous allegations that the principal and most staff are foreign nationals.
2. Claims that foreign learners cause overcrowding, resource strain, or underperformance are inaccurate. These are systemic issues requiring proper planning and sustained investment.
3. Allegations that the school prioritises foreigners over South Africans are refuted by evidence. Of the 1,548 learners, 968 are South African, and 580 are foreign nationals.
4. The school has enrolled 17 undocumented learners; the majority are South African (12), while five are foreign nationals.

“... when these protests started, there were 66 learners who were requesting to be accommodated outside the normal admission processes. Incidentally, this list, as received from the protester organisers, included children of foreign nationals. As things stand, there is a list of between 15-21 learners that needs to be resolved,” Hlomuka said. 

He said they engaged with parents and school management to explore all options to resolve this impasse and that the recent events have been traumatic for all learners, teachers, and support staff. 

“We have therefore resolved to take extraordinary measures to assist these learners and their parents. We want to stress, however, that this is not going to be allowed to be the norm,” Hlomuka said. 

“We have 11 Grade R children. These children cannot be accommodated at Addington Primary. In order to assist them, we have negotiated with a local ECD centre (Claire Ellis Brown Pre-School) at a reduced rate. This centre is a feeder school to Grade 1.

“We have left the administration of the school to find means to assist the learners in other grades, which will be announced in due course.” 

Ngcobo said spaces open up at the school when parents who applied to multiple schools opt for another school or transfer their child. This attrition is how they were able to admit more learners at Addington Primary School. 

He said that parents with learner admission issues must first go to district offices for assistance and if unassisted, they can escalate to the head office. 

Ngcobo said they heard allegations of bribery at Addington Primary School, but there is no evidence, and no one has come forward. 

“At this point in time, we don’t have any tangible report or any tangible evidence that we can follow on that says there is bribery, but should we have that, we will act accordingly,” Ngcobo said. 

March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma said the problems at the school should have been resolved sooner.

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