A CAPE Town school operating from a RDP house without registration has sparked controversy, with activists demanding its closure.
Champion Student Private School in Fukuze Street, Wallacedene, Kraaifontein has six classrooms with more than 30 learners.
The majority of the children who attend the school are Zimbabweans.
Each child is charged R200 to R250 per month for tuition.
The African National Congress (ANC) Member of the Provincial Legislature Benson Ngqentsu said they found out about the schools during their oversight visit in the area and informed the Western Cape Education Department (WCED).
Ngqentsu says: “As part of our Joe Slovo Right To Learn campaign, we visited Scottsville High in Kraaifontein.
“A principal alerted us about it and said part of their challenge was that there is a crisis of learners from unregistered schools.
“He also said when they are processing the applications they contact the parents to verify some facts but they end up cutting the call. We visited three unregistered schools in the Kraaifontein schools.”
He described the condition of the cramped classrooms as “horrible”.
Ngqentsu said the school ought to be closed immediately.
“We were told that the curriculum is from Zimbabwe. Are the authorities in Zimbabwe aware of this? Are the teachers qualified?
He pointed the finger at the Western Cape Education Department for the situation, saying: “The Department is complicit in this.
“They have been aware about it but they did nothing. I’m unsure if they are waiting for an incident to occur before taking action.”
“The Department has to take full responsibility and it’s not only Kraaifontein, the inquiry has to be broadened to other areas.
Founder and principal, Trust Mafara, 38, said he started tutoring in 2020 and then opened an aftercare and a school.
“I came from Zimbabwe in 2019 and couldn’t get a job as a teacher. I then decided to do this. I am a qualified foundation phase teacher.
“I have tried to get the papers with a committee in Kraaifontein and then I also spoke to the Department, but I never got anything positive from it.
“The children who are in this school are those who were unplaced and their parents brought them here instead of letting them sit at home doing nothing.”
He said he is renting the house and then he decided to run the school with his wife.
Mafara adds: “We then extended, and had unemployed teachers to help us.
“We would like to be registered and move to a bigger space because here, the children have no space to play.”
The WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said they have recently been made aware of two schools that are currently not registered with the Department in the Kraaifontein area and are investigating.