Many learners avoided school after violent protests over pupil placements at Addington Primary in Durban on 22 January 2026. The protests, led by local organisations, are over perceptions that migrant learners are prioritised over South African children, despite the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education presenting data showing that most of the school’s enrolment consists of South African citizens. Multiple pupils were absent from school on 22 January 2026, due to safety concerns at Durban’s Addington Primary School after a violent protest over placements on Wednesday, 21 January 2026.
This resulted in the deployment of alarge police contingentto the school. Anti-migrant groupsMarch and Marchand Operation Dudula, flanked by people dressed in uMkhonto WeSizwe party regalia, descended on the school, claiming that the school was prioritising placements for migrant learners, leaving South African children without spaces. The organisations are calling on school management to prioritise South African learners over immigrants.
The organisation’s chief claim was that 90% of the learners who attended Addington Primary were the children of migrants, a claim that spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Education, Mlu Mtshali, categorically refuted. “These organisations are spreading misinformation to mobilise support for their ends. This has put a lot of people’s lives at risk.
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It is a lie that 90% of learners are children of immigrants. The truth is that immigrants form 37% of the learner population. An even more dangerous lie is that the school principal goes out of his way to recruit children of immigrants.
The truth is that the learner ratio is a reflection of the demographics in the area. These are people who live, work and trade among each other, but they want the school to be where the line is drawn,” Mtshali said. According to figures presented by the department, Addington Primary has a total enrolment of 1, 548 pupils, of whom 968 are South African citizens.
Of the 548 foreign national pupils, officials said only 12 were undocumented, with the remainder holding valid documentation. “What is happening at Addington is a shame. This organisation is using education as a red herring to fight issues of immigration.
First of all, there is no crisis of placement in KwaZulu-Natal. We were able to place all learners who were on the waiting list in the area. We must applaud the District Team and the schools in the area for working diligently to that end,” Mtshali said.
When asked if it was possible to replace migrant children with South African children, Mtshali said that it would be illegal for the school to take any action in contravention of the Constitution or the Schools Act. “That is why we are reminding the political parties that if they are the lawmakers, the only way to change legislation is through an act of Parliament, and the schools will implement the law. This issue belongs in Parliament, and they should stop marching to schools,” said Mtshali.
Mamelo Mokoena* 33, has an eight-year-old child who is in Grade 2 at Addington Primary School. She told the Daily Maverick that she went to the school with her husband to fetch their child after being informed that the protest was escalating, prompting the school to advise parents to collect their children. “When we got there, I stayed in the car with my four-month-old baby to avoid anything happening.
My husband went to fetch my kid. The part that made me emotional was when I saw the teargas. I freaked out and was thinking about the children who don’t even know what is happening,” Mokoena said.
Mokoena is a Motswana woman from North West who is married to a Nigerian man. She says that because she is not fluent in IsiZulu and has her husband’s surname, she has been on the receiving end of discrimination.
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