The Parliament’s Select Committee on Education, Science and Creative Industries has warned that it will not allow Operation Dudula to disrupt school operations next year.

According to a report on The Witness, the civil organisation has threatened to block the attendance and registration of foreign nationals at schools across the country from 2026, citing what it calls the ‘influx of undocumented foreign nationals’ that it claims are ‘suffocating’ the health and education systems and depriving South Africans of their constitutional rights.

Committee chairperson Makhi Feni said there was nothing to be gained through protests of the kind planned by Dudula.

“Refusing a poor Zimbabwean entry into a clinic, what is there to gain? This is by no means doubting Operation Dudula’s existence, tactics and why they exist. This is not ridiculing the challenges brought about by foreigners in our country. But when illegality creeps up, the committee has a right to point this out,” Feni said.

Operation Dudula has in recent months disrupted healthcare services across the country, with intensified disruptions reported in KwaZulu-Natal, particularly in Durban.

Feni said schools must not be subjected to the same treatment.

“Two weeks ago, Operation Dudula was reported to be looking to move into the school space. In fact, its leader, Ms Zandile Dabula, was interviewed on eNCA where she confirmed these intentions.

“Any deliberate action that will disrupt the work of the government is objectionable and we will urge Operation Dudula to find other means to resolve their issues without resorting to deliberately challenging schools,” he said.

ALSO READ | Operation Dudula members march to Pietermaritzburg city hall

He stressed that such actions would not only be unlawful but would also create hostile environments for pupils.

“Apart from issues of legality, such action will make schools the opposite of what schools should be. They will instantly become unconducive spaces for learning. We do not want that; and Operation Dudula surely does not want that.

“There are various platforms to engage in our country, more legal ways to go about any protest in schools, rather than what is being proposed. South Africa is a democracy. People still have a responsibility to function within the provisions of the law,” Feni said.