ANC YOUTH LEAGUE ON RIVONIA SCHOOL RULING

Last Friday, 30 November the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Rivonia Primary School for excluding a learner because the school was already full. The court ruled that a provincial government has no authority to override a school's policy. We noted that the Federation of Governing Bodies of SA Schools said this was a victory against the increasing bureaucratisation of education. 

The African National Congress (ANC) Youth League finds this ruling very concerning as it might serve to  entrench and legalise blocking of black students from accessing former Model C schools. We believe that the government must have rights to review a school's policy that might serve to discriminate against  future potential learners on a case by case basis.

We understand that the learner to educator ratio is 33:1. We also well aware that that we need to improve the quality of education in South Africa. Unfortunately there are a lot more learners, most of them black, who are in desperate need of a good education which is generally not found in previously black school.

The ANC Youth League believes that we need to implement parallel solutions to our education crisis. While the Ministry and Department of Basic Education need to do their job and improve the quality of education and resources in all our schools, former Model C schools need to make some sacrifices without adversely affecting the quality of education.

As the ANC Youth League, we have always maintained that free and quality education is one key solution of attaining economic freedom. The call for free and quality education is also enshrined in the Freedom Charter. The ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal therefore must be challenged by the Department of Basic Education for the sake of all learners.

Statement issued by ANC Youth League - Office of the Acting President, Cde Ronald Lamola, December 3 2012

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