The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has been instructed to create a detailed management plan within six months, following a court ruling that its admissions policy contravenes the Constitution.
Western Cape High Court Judge Babalwa Pearl Mantame ruled down this judgment. Judge Mantame stated, “It is declared that Clause 13 of the WCED Admission Policy, to the extent that it unfairly discriminates against late applicants based on race, poverty level, place of birth, and social origin, and thereby constitutes a violation of sections 9(1) and 9(3) of the Constitution, is set aside.”
This lack of available spaces in schools is prevalent more in the WCED’s Metro East Education District.
More disadvantaged communities are dominating this area. The Equal Education (EE) and the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) organisations had instituted legal action against the WCED, saying it has been a reality for some children from disadvantaged communities in the province to have no access to school at the beginning of each school year. The organisations said this has been happening for more than ten years.
When welcoming the court ruling outcome, the organisations continued to say “pupils from poor and working-class backgrounds had long faced systemic barriers to accessing education in the Western Cape due to the provincial government’s “exclusionary, non-pro-poor approach”.
The Education Department has denied this, stating that its admission policy effectively addresses late and extremely late applications, as there are established procedures to follow.
Kerry Mauchiline, spokesperson to Education MEC, noted, “They were taking legal advice on the judgment and considering the potential for appeal”.
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Feature Image: Gettys
