Zim Parents Worried About Learners’ Move From Schools In South Africa, No Plan In Place

•The discontinuation of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) in June next year means many families will be forced to return to the country. This has left many parents worried about their children’s transition from schools in South Africa.
•We spoke to several Zimbabwean families who have started making arrangements to move to Zimbabwe.
•The Politeness Foundation expects more than 5,000 children to be accommodated in Zimbabwean schools in 2023.
•The foundation says 450 ZEP holders and 1,500 undocumented Zimbabweans have asked them for help to voluntarily return home.

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Uncertainty surrounding the scrapping of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) has left many parents worried about their children’s move from schools in South Africa.

GroundUp spoke to several Zimbabwean families who have been living and working in South Africa for more than a decade. They have started making arrangements to move their lives and belongings to Zimbabwe.

The families say they are forced to make the move following the South African government’s announcement that after 12 years it is now scrapping the ZEP. For now, the nearly 180,000 permit holders have until June 2023 to voluntarily return to Zimbabwe. The ZEP permit was to expire at the end of December 2022, leaving almost all of these permit holders undocumented.

Parents we spoke say there are major differences between the education systems in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Sarah, 39, who asked that we not use her real name, has been a domestic worker in Paarl, Western Cape, for 12 years. Sarah told GroundUp she had sent her children, aged 6 and 13, to live with relatives in Zimbabwe at the end of November.

She said her children had received good results in their latest reports from Paarlzicht primary school. They should progress to grades 1 and 8 in 2023 but Sarah is yet to find places for them at