Dozens of desperate children denied the right to attend school because they are undocumented may yet get relief from the courts.
The Grahamstown High Court in January rejected the application by 37 undocumented children to be allowed to attend school and also refused them leave to appeal the decision.
The Centre for Child Law (CCL), acting on behalf of the children, petitioned the Constitutional Court which seems inclined to hear the appeal.
The CCL has given the provincial education department until Monday to file affidavits, firstly setting out why it was not in the interest of justice for the court to hear the appeal.
Secondly, it wanted the department to set out why the appeal should not succeed and the interim relief for schooling be granted to the children.
The children are seeking access to school pending a much bigger court application to challenge the constitutionality of departmental policies and laws preventing undocumented children from attending school.
All 37 children were either refused access to schools or removed from schools they were already attending because they are undocumented...