South African opposition leader Herman Mashaba has criticised his government’s directive allowing children of undocumented foreigners, including Zimbabweans, to enrol in schools.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) announced that, for the 2025 academic year, schools must admit all learners regardless of documentation status. The directive benefits students who lack identification for matric exams as well as undocumented foreign pupils.
Mashaba, the leader of Action SA, expressed his disapproval during an interview on SABC.
“We live in a country where a huge percentage of our public schools, particularly in poor areas, are dilapidated,” he said. “We do not have enough teachers, and our education system is in dire straits.”
“Our Resources Are Overstretched”
Mashaba argued that the decision to admit undocumented learners would strain South Africa’s already limited educational resources. He believes the policy will encourage more undocumented immigrants to seek subsidised education in the country.
“This is because South Africa now seems to be a country where you do not need passports or visas. They just have to walk through our porous borders. Our sovereignty is not there anymore,” he said.
A significant number of these children come from Zimbabwe, where economic challenges have forced many families to cross into South Africa. Mashaba pointed to overcrowded classrooms and inadequate resources as evidence that South Africa cannot support undocumented learners.
“You even find in some schools children numbering 90 in a class,” he said.
“We Cannot Afford This”
Mashaba’s criticism is not new in South Africa’s ongoing debate over undocumented immigrants. He suggested that government policies prioritise undocumented foreigners over South Africans.
“Allowing them to use services when we cannot afford them for our own people does not make sense,” he said. “I am not sure who they are trying to satisfy.”
He also linked the policy to South Africa’s broader challenges with border security and governance.
“Our neighbouring countries are dysfunctional, and South Africa is not helping matters by enabling this dysfunction,” Mashaba added.
In 2022, similar frustrations were expressed by health official Phophi Ramathuba, who told a Zimbabwean patient:
“You are killing my health system.”