Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie says children of undocumented foreigners should not be placed ahead of South African children in public schools.
His comments come as thousands of pupils across the country headed back to school in inland provinces, while children at coastal schools are expected back next Wednesday.
"All children of illegal foreigners shouldn't be allowed in our schools in South Africa. Home Affairs should visit all schools before we do, this is nonsense.
“We must now explain to South African parents why their children cannot be placed in schools, we warned you," McKenzie, who is also the mayor of The Central Karoo District, said in a post on Facebook.
The post has been shared over 530 times with more than 1 300 comments.
However, the Department of Basic Education believes all children, regardless of where they were born, have a right to be enrolled in school.
The Department of Basic Education referred IOL to a previous judgment in the Eastern Cape High Court which ruled that all pupils may conditionally be admitted to public schools despite not having documentation.
DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the government stood by the court's decision.
A 2019 ruling found that clauses 15 and 21 of the School Admission Policy for Ordinary Public Schools of 1998 were unconstitutional.
In 2020, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga instructed schools to register undocumented children.
GroundUp reported at the time that she sent a circular to department heads, management bodies and school governing bodies to follow the court's ruling.
Meanwhile, Mhlanga said if a person is in the country without legal documents, and they have a child admitted to a South African school, then it is that person's right to remove their child.
"The children will remain in school unless the parents remove the child from the school. The child’s right to education remains protected," Mhlanga said.
Mckenzie previously made headlines when he said he would switch off a foreign national’s oxygen supply to save a South African.
IOL