Department shuts down four schools
The schools were found to not have been registered with the department.
Four illegal schools were closed by the Department of Education (DoE) last week.
Everest College of Excellence, with more than 115 learners from areas around Phumlani and Msholozi Trust outside White River, is one of these schools. It has been operating since 2018.
The DoE closed three more unregistered independent schools in Thulamahashe’s Bohlabela District in the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality. These are Greenhill International School, Greenlight Academy and Saseko Academy.
According to the department, all four schools were operating illegally as they were not registered, thus violating the South African Schools Act of 1996 as amended.
READ : Department of Education closes down local college operating without registration
“The law states that all schools, public and independent, must be registered with the Department of Basic Education at national and provincial level. Registration grants the applicant school legal authority to offer basic education and enables it to operate within the law,” said Sibusiso Zwane, the department’s acting chief director, district coordination.
Other parents revealed that the management of Everest College was sending them communiques, telling them not to worry about looking for space in other schools as they were handling the matter.
In another message, the school management assured parents that it had held a meeting with the department, and was able to prove it had applied for registration in 2019.
Jasper Zwane, the spokesperson for the department, maintained that the school was not registered. “The department had met with parents from the said school to develop a database of the learners and the grades they were in their previous school. We will then advise them on the process going forward,” he said.
The MEC for education, Bonakele Majuba, said, “The operation of illegal schools was very disruptive, as it affects not only the children and their parents, but ultimately the smooth running of the teaching and learning programme within circuits and districts. It is on that note that we advise parents to check the legality of any institution before they enlist or register their children.”
