Equal Education hails court ruling
ADVOCACY group Equal Education (EE) has lauded a court finding in its #FixOurSchools case, which they say declared parts of the school infrastructure law that allowed the government to delay fixing inadequate infrastructure “unconstitutional” and “invalid”.
EE took Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga to court this year to get the department to commit to meeting school infrastructure targets.
“This momentous victory has strengthened the ability of learners, teachers, parents, communities and civil society organisations to hold the State to its duty of protecting learners’ right to dignity, equality and education.
“Victories such as this validate the necessity of organising young people to demand rights that would otherwise not be freely afforded to them,” they said.
Two years ago EE slammed the department for underspending more than R800 million of a grant aimed at easing the infrastructure backlog at schools.
EE had said it was concerned with the department’s slow pace in spending the grant, and the decrease in funds allocated to the grant by the Treasury as a result. They said underspending on infrastructure forced pupils to attend sub-standard schools, without safe spaces for learning or access to the basic services that the constitution of this country promises them.
Reacting to the judgment, Section 27 said: “While the judgment in this matter is undoubtedly a resounding victory for civil society efforts to have in place effective minimum standards for safe and decent infrastructure, the victory will remain hollow unless and to the extent that the government takes seriously the rebuke and the principles underlying this judgment and court order. The government must also keep its promise to roll out safe sanitation.”
Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga yesterday the judgment came when the department was in the final stages of concluding amendments to the regulation on the norms and standards for school infrastructure.
“We will study the judgment with a view to incorporating the court ruling into the changes currently under way.
“It is important to report that progress has been made in the provision of school infrastructure.
The conclusion of the rationalisation and mergers exercise, in fact means that the initial target of 510 schools to be built under the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative programme has since been revised to 367, with the programme having completed 205 schools to date.”