Foreign children intimidated out of school through xenophobic threats
Migrant children are being prevented from attending school by threats and anti-migrant unrest, with some final-year students missing their crucial exams.
Premiumintermediate8 minutes
The Situation
What They Said
“The law guarantees every child the right to a basic education. This right has no nationality requirement. Threatening or intimidating a child to stop them from attending school is a violation of this right and may be a criminal act. I am reporting this to the relevant authorities.”
Anti-immigrant unrest is spreading in your area. Families with legally documented children in local schools are receiving threats. Final-year learners are being told to stay home by frightened parents, jeopardising years of work and their crucial exams. When you approach the school principal to ask what the school is doing to protect the children, they tell you it is a 'community issue' not a school issue.
The Fallacy
The Right to Education Applies Only to Citizens
Many people — and some school officials — believe that the right to a basic education is limited to citizens. It is not. The law states that 'everyone' has the right to a basic education. Courts and child protection laws affirm that every child physically present in the country is entitled to access basic education, regardless of nationality, documentation status, or immigration situation. Threatening a child out of school is both a violation of this right and may be a criminal act.
What the Law Says
Your Legal Foundation
Código de la Infancia y la Adolescencia / Ley 1098 de 2006
art. 18 de la Ley 1098 de 2006 — Children's right to education
“Children and adolescents have the right to good treatment, to receive guidance, education, care and discipline through non-violent methods.”
Threatening children to prevent them from attending school is a form of violence that violates their right to good treatment and education, as it uses intimidation to disrupt their schooling.
What Scripture Says
God's Word on This
Matthew 19:14 ()
“Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'”
Jesus did not check the nationality of the children before welcoming them. Hindering any child from access to education — from opportunity, from a future — is something God specifically condemns.
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You Know the Law — But Do You Know What to Say?
Reading your rights is one thing. Using them under pressure — calmly, correctly, in the right words — is what actually protects you. Members get the scripted rebuttal for this exact situation: what to say first, what to say if they push back, the tone to use, and the constitutional provision to cite. Practise out loud with audio until it's automatic.