Court looking in wrong place for cause of problems, says FEDSAS about Rivonia decision
A line through parents' indefeasible right to make decisions about their children's education.
This is how the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS) describes the decision yesterday by the South Gauteng High Court regarding Rivonia Primary School. The school's governing body took the Gauteng Education Department to court after this department forced the school earlier this year to admit a learner despite the fact that the school has already reached maximum capacity at that stage. However, the court ruled yesterday that the final decision regarding admission remains with the department.
"This means that bureaucrats and politicians again take decisions regarding the admission of learners. Of course, this approach was also a characteristic of a previous dispensation when many people where marginalised," says Mr Paul Colditz, CEO of FEDSAS.
Colditz says the current education system is based on a principle accepted in 1995 in White Paper 1 regarding a new education dispensation. Among others, it states that parents or guardians carry the primary responsibility for the education of their children, and that they have the right to be consulted by state authorities regarding the form of this education and that they have the right to take part in the management of this education.
"Included in this principle is the right of parents to choose the language and cultural or religious basis of the child's education, keeping in mind the rights of others and the growing child's right to choose," says Colditz.