Provincial legislators in the Western Cape have adopted a motion welcoming a High Court ruling confirming the legality of a model allowing for schools to be run jointly with non-state organisations.
Collaboration schools were first introduced in 2015. They partnered a small number of public schools in low-income communities with non-profit organisations which had experience in school management and improvement. The schools remained public and would not charge fees, although the partner organisation received a majority of seats on the governing bodies. In addition, provision has been made for donor-funded schools, where there is no partner organisation for the school, but donors contribute resources.
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU), Equal Education and the Equal Education Law Centre had challenged the legislation under which these arrangements were introduced. Among other things, they argued that the governing arrangements would undermine democratic accountability.
The motion, moved by Deidre Baartman of the Democratic Alliance, read: ‘That the House welcomes this week’s Western Cape High Court judgment, in the matter between Equal Education and the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union and the Western Cape Education Department; notes that the court dismissed the plaintiffs’ challenge to provisions contained in the Western Cape Provincial School Education Act of 2018, with the court noting that the application “cannot succeed and falls to be dismissed”; notes that this judgment reaffirms the legality and constitutionality of the Western Cape Education Department’s collaboration schools model; and further notes that this week’s judgment allows the continuation of the collaboration schools model, and will allow the Western Cape Government’s Department of Education to continue its work with private sector and non-profit partners to provide free quality education to thousands of learners in the Western Cape.’
Baartman said in a statement that the fact that the motion had passed without objection indicated that even the ANC accepted that the model was ‘not only legal, but also worthwhile’.