The illegal school that had been operating from a house under the guise of providing home schooling has now been closed and its owner will also face fraud charges.
North West department of education spokesperson Elias Malindi confirmed on Monday that its officials were sent to inspect the three-bedroom house in Legwere Street in Mogwase, Rusternburg, where about 15 children have been getting home schooling lessons for grade R to nine since the beginning of the year.
Sowetan exposed the illegal school two weeks ago after concerned neighbours alerted us about it. Neighbours complained about noise coming from the yard and the unconducive and crammed environment.
“The centre does not have a name. There are four tutors that are not registered with Sace (SA Council for Educators). Besides the money paid at Brainline, parents are also paying R700 per month [to the centre]. By law all teachers are required to register with Sace,” said Malindi.
“Generally the place is not well taken care of and there is construction on site and safety is altogether not guaranteed. It is apparent that all the information that was provided by the centre is not genuine and they are trying by all means to use a defensive mechanism to ensure that the centre remains operational. All learners are accommodated in one classroom that is not conducive for teaching and learning.
“As a department we have told them to close with immediate effect and the subdistrict of Moses Kotane will make sure that the 15 children are placed in four registered independent schools in the area. The department is to open a case of fraud against the owner of the centre.”
During Sowetan’s visit at the time, children were found to be using a single toilet made from corrugated iron sheets.
There was no signage with the school’s name. Two classrooms were still under construction and it’s alleged that the owner, Kagiso Mafilika, used her garage for teaching, a say she denied and declined to allow Sowetan to inspect the facilities.
The main house is being rented out to foreign shop owners. The children’s parents refused to be interviewed.
Mafilika had told Sowetan that she was a qualified tutor from Brainline, an online home schooling platform, and that learners were registered with both Brainline and the department.
She said she only used her house as a centre and not a school. Brainline CEO Coleen Cronje said centres like Mafilika’s were not legally recognised.
SA laws require that pupils who receive home schooling to do so from their homes.
Residents who live next to the school welcomed its closure.
“That place is not safe. I can only hope that the parents would be more responsible and inspect the institutions where they place their children for learning,” said a neighbour who asked not to be named.
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