SA shuts down illegal Jo’burg school run by Zimbab...

SA shuts down illegal Jo’burg school run by Zimbabweans

Zim Now Writer

The Gauteng Department of Education has closed Milton Park English Foundation School in Ivory Park, Johannesburg, which was attended mostly by Zimbabwean learners.

"However, the owners have been operating illegally from different densely populated locations, moving each time they are identified and closed,” GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona told IOL.

Ivory Park is a densely populated residential suburb of Midrand, Johannesburg with a population of more than 182 000 people.

“The illegal school was previously shut down in 2020, whilst operating from a different location," Mabona said.

Mabona said information received indicated that the school had been operating in the latest location for about five months.

Mabona said by the time department officials got to the school to close it, the owners had already fled the premises.

According to Mabona the unregistered school had been offering tuition for learners from Grade R to Grade 9, with a learner enrolment of 111, most of them being Zimbabwean nationals.

The closure is part of Operation Vala initiated by SA authorities to get rid of illegal schools.

Mabona said affected learners will be placed in legal schools within the same area.
"The officials visited the school to assess learners, a meeting will be facilitated to inform parents of developments regarding the school," he added.

Mabona said undocumented learners will be processed with a focus on keeping them in school.
"Officials will continue with such a process, however children of school going age, should be in a classroom, and as such documents or lack thereof will not be a barometer," he said.
Last year about 20 other unregistered schools operating in Ivory Park were shut down.

Zimbabwe has also been battling the proliferation of unregistered schools as an increasingly young population scrambles for places in the overwhelmed public institutions.