The governing bodies of four farm schools in the Eastern Cape and the Centre for Child Law have launched an urgent application to stop the closure of their schools without their input.
In a matter set to be heard in the high court in Grahamstown in May‚ the governing bodies want to interdict the closure of the schools until the education department has complied with procedural requirements for the closure or merging of public schools.
The Centre for Child Law said the governing bodies would also seek an order declaring that the South African Schools Act imposed an obligation on the department to provide schools with a written plan on how the closure or merger of public schools would take place.
The principals of the four schools in the Fort Beaufort District were informed in November last year that their schools would be closed by the end of the first term this year‚ and that pupils would be sent to a hostel in Adelaide 80 kilometres away.
The centre said there was no consultation with parents.
The centre said provincial departments of education were closing farm schools in rural and remote communities‚ and often forcing families to send children as young as seven years old to live in poorly supervised hostel schools in distant towns.
It said the state also failed to provide scholar transport to schools and failed to ensure access to hostels for learners.
“Moreover‚ the decision to close the farm schools is often taken without consulting the parents or school governing bodies at the affected schools as required by the South African Schools Act‚” the centre said in a statement.
In an affidavit filed with the high court in Grahamstown this month‚ a parent of two pupils at one of the schools‚ Yandiswa Nqangela‚ said many of the learners would find a move to a hostel extremely difficult after having experienced nothing but rural farm life.
She said education MEC Mandla Makupula was permitted to close a public school‚ but only if certain procedures were followed.
These included giving notice to the parents‚ holding a public hearing‚ giving parents an opportunity to make representations and considering those representations.
“The applicable statutory requirements have not been adhered to and the correct procedures have not been followed prior to the MEC taking his decision to close the four farm schools.”
She said the governing bodies had not been informed by the MEC of his intention to close the schools or the reasons for the proposed closures.
Four Eastern Cape farm schools fighting closure in court
In a matter set to be heard in the high court in Grahamstown in May‚ the governing bodies want to interdict the closure of the schools until the education department has complied with procedural requirements for the closure or merging of public schools.
The Centre for Child Law said the governing bodies would also seek an order declaring that the South African Schools Act imposed an obligation on the department to provide schools with a written plan on how the closure or merger of public schools would take place.
The principals of the four schools in the Fort Beaufort District were informed in November last year that their schools would be closed by the end of the first term this year‚ and that pupils would be sent to a hostel in Adelaide 80 kilometres away.
The centre said there was no consultation with parents.
The centre said provincial departments of education were closing farm schools in rural and remote communities‚ and often forcing families to send children as young as seven years old to live in poorly supervised hostel schools in distant towns.
It said the state also failed to provide scholar transport to schools and failed to ensure access to hostels for learners.
“Moreover‚ the decision to close the farm schools is often taken without consulting the parents or school governing bodies at the affected schools as required by the South African Schools Act‚” the centre said in a statement.
In an affidavit filed with the high court in Grahamstown this month‚ a parent of two pupils at one of the schools‚ Yandiswa Nqangela‚ said many of the learners would find a move to a hostel extremely difficult after having experienced nothing but rural farm life.
She said education MEC Mandla Makupula was permitted to close a public school‚ but only if certain procedures were followed.
These included giving notice to the parents‚ holding a public hearing‚ giving parents an opportunity to make representations and considering those representations.
“The applicable statutory requirements have not been adhered to and the correct procedures have not been followed prior to the MEC taking his decision to close the four farm schools.”
She said the governing bodies had not been informed by the MEC of his intention to close the schools or the reasons for the proposed closures.
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