Parents go to court over online homeschooling
Three KwaZulu-Natal families are taking the provincial education department to court over the rejection of their applications to register four children for online homeschooling.
The children, from primary school to grade 9, use online platforms to learn at home something the department says is not yet regulated.
The parents are going to court with the help of the Pestalozzi Trust after they were threatened with imprisonment for not sending their children to formal schools.
The trust a legal defence fund for home and civil education said the families applied to register their children as home learners as required by the South African Schools Act.
“The applications were rejected. The families appealed the rejections, as provided for in law. But after many months and requests that the MEC respond to the appeals, they have not received any reply.
“The court application is to force the MEC to either uphold or reject the appeals. If the appeals are rejected then the reasons for the rejections will be studied and after consultation with the parents, further action taken,” said the trust’s CEO, Karin van Oostrum.
A parent of one of the affected children, a grade 2 pupil from Umhlanga, told the Sunday Times they believed homeschooling was in the best interest of their children and they would defend their rights. The matter has been set down for December.
The parents, who are also hoping to register their second child for grade R in 2023, were given the nod to homeschool their grade 1 son last year but were rejected this year.
“We did the application again this year in January believing that we are doing the right thing and following the correct steps. We then got back a general rejection that says that we as parents are not the ‘teacher’ in this instance. We disagreed as I have left working in an office full time to be home full time to be that ‘teacher/facilitator’. I am 100% involved in facilitating the curriculum and assessments. It is unfair to state such a reason without offering a chance to discuss or provide further proof. A home visit was not even conducted,” the mother said.
“We started homeschooling in 2020 — the major factors were Covid and the disruptions experienced at the school. My husband and I alternated in taking care of my kids when schools were closed due to Covid.”
Their son is enrolled at Think Digital Academy and Impaq online schools.
“It is disheartening as we feel bullied and threatened into getting our child into a physical school, as the department [recently] issued a notice to all homeschooling parents, stating we could be jailed. We believe strongly that we are being put at a disadvantage and it has disrupted our daily programme. My son has picked up on that and has asked if he will be forced to go to a school that the department suggested.”
The trust noticed in November last year that applications were being turned down.
“At first a trickle and then a flood of homeschoolers had their applications for home education turned down. By early 2022 it became apparent that we were dealing with the largest number of applications for home education turned down ever. The trust contacted the department and the national department of basic education to find out why this was happening. The department was rejecting all applications for home education from homeschoolers who were using online schools. Any application which mentioned ‘online’, ‘school’ or ‘academy’ was being rejected.”
Van Oostrum said that by the middle of 2022 the provincial department was taking the position that homeschoolers using online schools in their own homes would not be allowed to register until a new national framework was in place to regulate online education.
She said as far as the trust was aware, learners using online schools were being registered for home education in other provinces —“definitely in Gauteng and the Western Cape”.
KwaZulu-Natal education department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said the department would not break the law because there was pressure from parents.
“In South Africa there are three types of education public, independent and home. There is nothing called a home education centre or online school. Those are not regulated yet. The department released the clarification in a circular. It is very clear and I wonder why Pestalozzi is not understanding that online schooling is not yet regulated.
“About appeals not responded to, I have no idea, but those brought to us, I believe legal services or the MEC’s office responded as we submitted the documents proving learners are registered with online schools.”
The national department of basic education did not respond to a request for comment.