Social workers have removed 12 children from an illegal Islam Academy near Wasbank.
Social workers responded to a call for assistance from police who had been alerted to the existence of the academy by two children who escaped from the institution. 

Upon investigation, social workers found 18 people, including 12 children, who were being held in a hall with ten bunk beds. They established that the children and youths did not attend any formal education facility, but were studying the Quran. 

“Social workers established that although the Sabalalisa Iqiniso Dawah Academy is a registered non-profit organisation (NPO), it is not permitted to accommodate children. The consent forms they claimed to have were, in fact, signed by the children themselves,” said Ncumisa Fandesi, spokesperson for the Department of Social Welfare.

An instructor at the academy has been arrested along with five youths who were found to be in the country illegally. It is not clear where the youths are from.
MEC Thusi has applauded the swift action of the police and social workers