ActionSA has officially written to the Gauteng Education MEC demanding immediate executive intervention following shocking revelations regarding a syndicate of private schools in the Ekurhuleni region.
This follows an escalation to the ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Legislature caucus by our Ekurhuleni ActionSA structures, highlighting how desperate parents and vulnerable learners are being ruthlessly exploited.
A formal response from the quality assurance body, Umalusi, has laid bare the illegal and unaccredited status of the majority of these schools operating under a single illicit “umbrella” framework:
1. El Shaddai Learning Academy completely failed to apply for Umalusi accreditation.
2. Brakpan Education College has completely failed to apply for Umalusi accreditation.
3. Lee Rand High School is currently unaccredited and merely in the “accreditation process.”
4. Benoni Education Centre (BEC) is unaccredited and has only initiated the first steps of the process.
5. Dalpark Learning Academy is the only institution in the group currently accredited.
Umalusi has explicitly clarified that each institution must register and be accredited independently under its own EMIS number. The structural arrangement where these schools operate under a single umbrella to bypass regulatory frameworks is completely non-compliant and illegal.
Exploitation, Academic Fraud, and Deplorable Conditions
The administrative irregularities are only the tip of the iceberg. Reports brought directly to our office outline a horrific environment where parents are being extorted and the futures of hundreds of learners are being compromised:
• Matric Registration Crisis: These unaccredited institutions falsely advertised Grade 12 tuition, leaving matriculants stranded with incorrect subject registrations and facing total exclusion from writing their National Senior Certificate (NSC) final exams.
• Mathematics: Worse still are the alarming allegations of educators taking bribes from students in exchange for passing marks.
• Deplorable Conditions: Classrooms are heavily overcrowded and operating in clear violation of basic safety and health standards, frequently lacking access to running water and electricity.
• Hostility and Intimidation: When parents demanded answers regarding their children’s registration profiles, the school’s management resorted to hostility, even calling the police to disperse parent meetings.
ActionSA will not sit idly by while a syndicate of unscrupulous operators treats basic education purely as a profiteering scheme at the expense of our youth.
• Written Demand to the MEC: ActionSA has written directly to the Gauteng MEC for Education to demand a compliance audit of this entire network, a full investigation into the directors for fraud and the immediate closure of all illegal operations.
• Immediate Relocation of Grade 12 Learners: We are explicitly calling on the Department of Education to safely move all currently enrolled Grade 12 learners away from this syndicate and place them into fully registered, legally accredited schools outside of this group immediately. This is the only way to ensure their SBA profiles are corrected and that they can write their final NSC examinations without their academic year being destroyed.
• Utilising All GPL Mechanisms: We will use every legislative tool available to us in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature including submitting stringent written and oral questions and demanding committee oversight to hold both the Department and these fraudulent school owners accountable.
We must protect our communities from being taken advantage of by predatory, unregistered institutions. ActionSA will remain at the forefront of this battle until every affected child is placed in a safe, legitimate learning environment.
ActionSA Demands MEC Intervention After Umalusi Confirms Shocking Accreditation Status of Benoni Private School Network
ActionSA has officially written to the Gauteng Education MEC demanding immediate executive intervention following shocking revelations regarding a syndicate of private schools in the Ekurhuleni region.
This follows an escalation to the ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Legislature caucus by our Ekurhuleni ActionSA structures, highlighting how desperate parents and vulnerable learners are being ruthlessly exploited.
A formal response from the quality assurance body, Umalusi, has laid bare the illegal and unaccredited status of the majority of these schools operating under a single illicit “umbrella” framework:
1. El Shaddai Learning Academy completely failed to apply for Umalusi accreditation.
2. Brakpan Education College has completely failed to apply for Umalusi accreditation.
3. Lee Rand High School is currently unaccredited and merely in the “accreditation process.”
4. Benoni Education Centre (BEC) is unaccredited and has only initiated the first steps of the process.
5. Dalpark Learning Academy is the only institution in the group currently accredited.
Umalusi has explicitly clarified that each institution must register and be accredited independently under its own EMIS number. The structural arrangement where these schools operate under a single umbrella to bypass regulatory frameworks is completely non-compliant and illegal.
Exploitation, Academic Fraud, and Deplorable Conditions
The administrative irregularities are only the tip of the iceberg. Reports brought directly to our office outline a horrific environment where parents are being extorted and the futures of hundreds of learners are being compromised:
• Matric Registration Crisis: These unaccredited institutions falsely advertised Grade 12 tuition, leaving matriculants stranded with incorrect subject registrations and facing total exclusion from writing their National Senior Certificate (NSC) final exams.
• Mathematics: Worse still are the alarming allegations of educators taking bribes from students in exchange for passing marks.
• Deplorable Conditions: Classrooms are heavily overcrowded and operating in clear violation of basic safety and health standards, frequently lacking access to running water and electricity.
• Hostility and Intimidation: When parents demanded answers regarding their children’s registration profiles, the school’s management resorted to hostility, even calling the police to disperse parent meetings.
ActionSA will not sit idly by while a syndicate of unscrupulous operators treats basic education purely as a profiteering scheme at the expense of our youth.
• Written Demand to the MEC: ActionSA has written directly to the Gauteng MEC for Education to demand a compliance audit of this entire network, a full investigation into the directors for fraud and the immediate closure of all illegal operations.
• Immediate Relocation of Grade 12 Learners: We are explicitly calling on the Department of Education to safely move all currently enrolled Grade 12 learners away from this syndicate and place them into fully registered, legally accredited schools outside of this group immediately. This is the only way to ensure their SBA profiles are corrected and that they can write their final NSC examinations without their academic year being destroyed.
• Utilising All GPL Mechanisms: We will use every legislative tool available to us in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature including submitting stringent written and oral questions and demanding committee oversight to hold both the Department and these fraudulent school owners accountable.
We must protect our communities from being taken advantage of by predatory, unregistered institutions. ActionSA will remain at the forefront of this battle until every affected child is placed in a safe, legitimate learning environment.