I have a soft spot for broadcast programmes like CCFM and Radio Islam because they bring a spiritual dimension to complex questions in education. Towards the end of an interview with CCFM last week, one final audience question came through to me as the guest: “Where do I enrol my child when the schools all say they are full?”

My instincts told me that this question required more context for a helpful answer and so I asked the host to give that mother my cellphone number so that she could call me. The distraught mother had no airtime but managed a WhatsApp message for me to call her back. That was when the drama started...