Durban - A DURBAN woman is being sent from pillar to post in her bid to get her niece into school.
Already 9 years old, the child has only been to Sunday school.
The Briardene woman, who cannot be named to protect the child’s identity, said her sister disappeared five years ago, leaving the girl with her.
All she has to identify the child is a clinic card - there is no birth certificate. The card bears the surname of a man she has never met as the father.
“My sister left the child and disappeared to live a better life. The issue with her not having a birth certificate has been an ongoing problem. I went to the social workers with what I have. They saw that the child’s surname was different from mine and they told me to go and find the father. Only then can they help me. I went to the police to make an affidavit and went back to the same social worker, and she still told me to find the father.”
The woman said she did not know the father or the circumstances under which he and her sister met.
“The child is 9 years old and the only education she has is from Sunday school. We need help. The child should be in Grade 4, yet she has never even been to Grade R,” she said.
Social Development Department spokesperson Mhlabunzima Memela said the matter should not prevent the child from going to school and getting an education.
“The aunt must go to the social workers and court to get custody of the child. It will not be an easy process. The court will make the necessary checks to ensure that she is capable of being a parent to the child and verify her relationship to the child. The court will have to ensure that the biological parents cannot return and create conflict when years go by,” he said.
Provincial Home Affairs manager Cyril Mncwabe said the process should start with social workers and only get to Home Affairs when all the investigations and court proceedings are complete.
“When all the processes with social workers and the court are done, they will give her documents that she can use to go to any Home Affairs office and apply for a certificate which makes the child her own,” he said.
Education Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said the woman should have raised the issue with the department years ago.
“We requested the department to go to the district or circuit offices to assist. We will also demand written reports from the schools that are cited as having refused the child a place,” he said.
SA Human Rights Commission provincial manager Lloyd Lotz said no child should be denied access to education.
Anyone with similar issues should contact the commission at 031 304 7323.