WCED ordered to address late school admissions crisis

THE Western Cape High Court has delivered a scathing judgment against the provincial education department, ordering it to develop a comprehensive plan within six months to address late school admissions.

- ZELDA VENTER

The ruling comes amid growing concerns about learners left without placements at the start of the academic year.

Equal Education (EE) and the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC), who launched the application, hailed the judgment confirming that learners from Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Kuils River, Strand, and surrounding areas have an equal right to basic education.

The applicants successfully asked that the court declare the department's failure to plan for and timeously place late applicant learners in schools is unconstitutional and in violation of their rights to dignity and equality, among others.

Over the years, learners from poor, working-class backgrounds have faced persistent systemic barriers to accessing education, due to the Western Cape government's exclusionary, non-poor approach, the court was told.