MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
15 July 2026
Equal Education welcomes the DBE circular protecting foreign national learners and calls on schools to uphold learner safety
Equal Education welcomes the Department of Basic Education’s Circular S7 of 2026, issued ahead of the start of the third school term, which prohibits vigilantism and violence in and around schools while reaffirming all learners’ rights to a safe learning environment. Equal Education supported the DBE in developing this important circular as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen school safety and safeguard every learner in South Africa. This circular extends the scope of the Gauteng High Court judgment in Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia and Others v Operation Dudula and Others, which prohibited any forms of intimidating, harassing, and/or assaulting any individual whom they identify as being a foreign national [including learners and school staff members].
In preparation for the commencement of the third term, we are calling on all Provincial Education Departments, School Governing Bodies, principals, and school communities to ensure the immediate implementation of the circular. The current rise in violent vigilantism and xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals highlights the need for schools to remain safe, with dignity and inclusion for every child. The safety of learners has no nationality. The right to human dignity has no nationality. Accordingly, we are calling on the school community to uphold the constitutional values and safeguard children’s best interests.
The circular makes it clear that acts of intimidation, discrimination, violence, and vigilantism against learners, including foreign nationals and undocumented learners, are prohibited. It further reminds schools that every child in South Africa has the constitutional right to basic education regardless of nationality or documentation status and that no learner may be denied access to schooling on this basis. Schools are further required to strengthen their School Safety Plans, work with the South African Police Service where necessary, and provide psychosocial support to learners affected by violence or intimidation.
We urge all school principals to communicate the contents of this circular to educators, parents, and learners and to act swiftly against any form of xenophobia, intimidation, or violence within school communities. Schools must never become sites where fear and discrimination undermine children’s constitutional rights.
Every learner belongs in school regardless of their nationality. Every learner deserves to be safe.
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#iSafetyNgoku
For media enquiries, please contact:
Ayanda Sishi-Wigzell | ayanda@equaleducation.org.za +27 78 279 9752
Sesethu August: sesethu@equaleducation.org.za, +27 63 221 7983