Incensed residents of Nellmapius have shut down an illegal school run by a Zimbabwean foreigner in the area on Monday.
The so-called principal of the school claimed to be Brian Lelo, who is a Zimbabwean foreigner, was then arrested by the police on Monday and will be charged with fraud.
The books that were used at the school that belong to the learners was also seize as evidence by police.
The school is known as Focus Academy Kurasha and was only registered on 23 September 2024 according to the CIPC registration documents which Lelo had shown to Tshwane Talks earlier in the day.
Be that as it may, residents are adamant that the school has been operational since early 2024, long before the September 2024 registration date.
The school, which is in Extension 6 of Nellmapius, is based at a private RDP house and caters mainly for children of foreigners.
There are 80 children attending the school from 8am to 2pm every weekday and thereafter afternoon lessons commence at 3pm until 7pm in the evening every weekday.
Parents pay R350 a month per child.
“As residents of Nellmapius Extension 6,7 and 8 we are opposed to the establishment of a school inside an RDP house meant for residential purposes and not business like a school,” said Caroline Mlambo community member.
“We have discovered that this school has grades R right up to grade 7 and the whole situation is not fair because there are many people who need houses for residential purposes, yet the owner of this very RDP house has decided to rent his house out to foreigners to run a school business and while he went away to live somewhere, meaning he doesn’t really need the house and that the government must therefore take it away from him and give it to someone who is in real need of a residential house,” she said.
Yesterday livid residents removed furniture from the “school” and told parents who came to fetch their children from the school that starting tomorrow (Tuesday) they must not bring their children to school as they have now shut it down.
Lelo lied to Tshwane Talks when he said what he was running was not a school per se, but a mere study group with only two teachers teaching Maths and English only.
His lies were exposed by local Ward Councillor Joel Masilela who said the following:
“When we met this guy (Lelo) in May last year, he said he was merely providing afternoon tutorial services to learners who came from different schools which are legitimate in terms of the Schools Act, and we therefore let him be, but now today we discovered that he is actually running an illegal school.”
Masilela added that Lelo couldn’t provide him with documents relating to the zoning certificate for educational purposes and no registration certificate from the Department of Basic Education recognising the institution.
“We have not been able to get academic qualifications of the principal himself as well as those of the teaching staff, and all that we got were passports as well as CIPC registration documents, therefore this doesn’t qualify or give the principal and his staff credit to run an institution of general education,” revealed Masilela.
“Whether the kids schooling here are not bonafide South Africans and are actually foreigners is immaterial because the bottom line is that they are provided with a substandard education, and tomorrow their qualifications won’t be worth the paper they are written on, thus imposing them as a burden to the country,” said Masilela.
“Whatever education they get here will have long-lasting socio-political implications not only for South Africa but for Zimbabwe as well,” warned Masilela.
He revealed that the MEC responsible for education in Gauteng has been alerted to the fact that a second illegal school has been discovered in Nellmapius.
This was in reference to a similar illegal school which was shut down by residents of Nellmapius last year.
He said the owner of the RDP house, who presently lives in the Eastern Cape, is not aware that his house has been turned into a private illegal school.
“The owner of the house agreed that the school business that has been set up in his house must be stopped and that those living there may do so only as residential tenants who pay him rent every month,” he said.
Masilela appealed to residents not to adopt kangaroo court or mob justice tactics when dealing with the issue of illegal schools as their duty is to uphold a democratic dispensation and must not gravitate towards acts of assault and arson, as these will undermine their efforts to uphold the law that they are supposed to uphold.
He appealed to anyone thinking about setting up illegal schools to desist from doing so.
A quick perusal of the documents shown to Tshwane Talks by Brian Lelo the self-styled principal indicate that the school was actually registered under the ownership or directorship of one Pianos Kurasha.
This may suggest that Brian Lelo is working as a front for Kurasha.
Communication Coordinator, Tshwane District Captain Johan van Dyk confirm to Tshwane Talks that A case of fraud was opened at Silverton police