(Photo: Primrose Murahwi / Unsplash)
An urgent interim court interdict temporarily halted a decision by the head of education in North-West to amend the language and admissions policy of the Swartruggens Combined School.
Swartruggens Combined School was informed two days before the start of the school year that the North West Education Department had placed 78 additional learners at the school during the December school holidays.
Fedsas, the school governing body organisation, supported the school’s governing body with an urgent court application after the learners were placed without any prior consultation or the provision of additional resources.
According to the organization, the court’s intervention is of greater importance for all public schools’ language and admissions policy.
“The ruling is a major first victory. The Schools Act clearly states that policy on language and admission is the function of the school governing body. This court ruling is therefore an important confirmation that a provincial head of education cannot unilaterally change or circumvent the school’s policy,” says Dr. Jaco Deacon, CEO of Fedsas.
The court also said that any amendment to a school’s language or admissions policy has no legal effect, unless it has been formally accepted by the governing body.
Furthermore, the North-West Education Department has been ordered to urgently provide infrastructure, staff and other support to temporarily accommodate the additional learners.
“The judgment is of particular importance because the court not only granted interim protection, but also gave a strict interdict which obliges the provincial education department to act urgently,” says Dr. Juané van der Merwe-Mocke, deputy head of Fedsas and head of legal services.
Archive photo for illustration. (Archive photo: Leonie Bezuidenhout/Maroela Media)
The court was also concerned about security issues after it was found that some learners were housed in a school hall. This is considered a possible risk.
“The school hall is partly a wooden structure which is in a terrible state… the court pointed out that it poses an immediate threat to the safety of the learners,” says Van der Merwe-Mocke.
Although the 78 learners remain at the school for the time being, the court made it clear that the state cannot simply place learners in schools without proper planning, resources and consultation.
Deacon says the ruling sends a clear message.
“This confirms a broader principle in education: accountable state action, proper planning and respect for the legal role of governing bodies are not negotiable.”
The second part of the court application, in which the review of the decision is requested, will be heard later.