South Africa’s Appeal Court confirms provinces’ right to separate school governance models
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Equal Education and the South African Democratic Teachers Union and confirmed the right of the Western Cape education department to introduce more flexible governance models in two new types of public schools. These are collaboration schools and donor-funded schools.
Dispute over governing bodies
As Daily Maverick reports, these categories are provided for by the Western Cape Provincial School Education Amendment Act of 2018. In collaboration schools, non-profit partners may receive 50% of seats on the school governing body and work under contract to improve academic outcomes. In donor-funded schools, external investors may negotiate a similar level of governance influence.
The appellants argued that the changes contradict the South African Schools Act and weaken democratic participation in governing bodies. In their view, the national law provides for only three types of public schools: ordinary schools, institutions for learners with special needs, and schools with a specialised technical focus. They also noted that the law establishes the composition of governing bodies with a majority of parent representatives.
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Provincial powers
The appeal court agreed that the requirement concerning the composition of governing bodies applies to ordinary public schools. At the same time, it concluded that provinces may create other types of public schools with their own governance mechanisms, provided they comply with the objectives and democratic principles of the South African Schools Act.
The court drew attention to Schedule 4 of South Africa’s Constitution, which defines the concurrent powers of national and provincial authorities and assigns provinces an active role in legislatively ensuring the right to education. According to Daily Maverick, the ruling leaves provinces room for new approaches to public education, including models with greater school governance autonomy and assessment based primarily on learner outcomes.
