Section 27 of the constitution makes it clear that every child of school-going age must be afforded a place in a school, and that means all children.
Basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube said foreign pupils make up a very small proportion of the country’s education system and cannot be blamed for shortages in school places.
“We have to take a step back and say how big is the system? You’ve got 13.7-million learners. You’ve got almost half a million teachers, and what we’re talking about is foreign learners who form 1.8%. So the assertion that somehow South African learners are being denied spaces by foreign nationals is untrue,” she said in an interview with the SABC.
The issue of school admissions, particularly involving undocumented children, has sparked heated debate across the country, with some parents claiming foreigners are being prioritised over South African children.
Gwarube acknowledged parents’ frustrations but warned against directing their anger at the wrong people.
“We understand that this is born from a frustration of parents who are unable to find places at the schools to which they want to send their children. All of those things are taken into consideration,” she said.
The court was quite clear that you yourselves have a problem where you have South African children who are undocumented in schools.
— Siviwe Gwarube, basic education minister
The minister said that it was important not to “scapegoat the wrong reasons and the wrong people”.
Gwarube pointed to the constitution and a 2019 high court ruling that affirms every child’s right to basic education. “Section 27 of the constitution is clear that every child of school-going age must be afforded a space to go to school, and it includes all children.
“In 2019, there was a high court case that affirmed this very thing, where the court said you cannot deny children a space solely because they are undocumented,” she said.
The case she referred to was between the Centre for Child Law and Others v Minister of Basic Education and Others, which challenged provisions in the national school admissions policy and departmental circulars that allowed public schools to refuse admission or remove pupils who lacked identity documents such as birth certificates, passports or immigration papers.
The court ruled that pupils are defined in the South African Schools Act as “any person receiving an education or obliged to receive education in terms of the Act” without distinguishing between children who are legally present in the country and those who are not.
It further emphasised that section 3(1) of the act places an obligation on parents to ensure children attend school from the year they turn seven until they reach 15 years or complete Grade 9.
The judgment concluded that public schools may not refuse to enrol, or remove, children solely because they lack documentation and that basic education must be accessible to all children physically present in South Africa, regardless of legal status.
Gwarube said the ruling exists partly because many South African children themselves are undocumented.
“Perhaps middle-class South Africans may not understand why this could be the case, but in deep rural areas there are children who don’t have parents, children who don’t have a birth certificate. There are South African children whose homes have burnt down,” she said.
When asked whether undocumented South African children were currently attending school, Gwarube said the court had been clear on the issue.
“The court was quite clear that you yourselves have a problem where you have South African children who are undocumented in schools,” she said.
In a recent written parliamentary reply, Gwarube revealed that 253,618 foreign children were enrolled in South African schools in 2025.
She reiterated that the department of basic education was constitutionally obliged to admit pupils regardless of nationality or immigration status.
“South African courts have consistently confirmed that these constitutional rights apply to all children in South Africa and are not limited by citizenship, immigration status or the possession of identity or birth documentation,” she said.
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