Joint statement: Fochville Community Members and SECTION27: The powers of SGBs must not be abused to deny equal access to education!
Crucial case on the right to education to be heard in the Constitutional Court on Thursday (MEC for Education, Gauteng and others v Rivonia Primary School and others)
On Thursday 9 May 2013 the Constitutional Court will hear the case of MEC for Education, Gauteng and others v Rivonia Primary School and others ("Rivonia case").
This case revolves around a dispute concerning the balance of power between the Gauteng Department of Education ("GDE") and the School Governing Body ("SGB"). Central to the case is the validity of an instruction by the GDE to the SGB to override its admission policy and to admit an additional learner to Rivonia Primary School.
The Constitutional Court's decision in the Rivonia case is a crucial one for the future of equal access to education in SA. It will have an impact on learners and communities throughout South Africa. It will determine who has the final say in how many learners attend a school, what language they will be taught in and who will be excluded from a school on the basis of an SGB's admission and language policies.
One community anxiously awaiting the outcome of the decision in the Rivonia case is the group of parents residing in Fochville and Kokosi on the far West Rand who seek English-medium instruction for their children.