South Africa: School language furore heats up

[Harold F. Schiffman]

School language furore heats up

 PRETORIA
Afrikaans school policy in spotlight

Tue, 13 Feb 2007

The Education Department had the right to withdraw the functions of an
Afrikaans school's governing body without warning or giving reasons if
that school unreasonably refused to admit English pupils. This was argued
on behalf of Education Minister Naledi Pandor in an urgent application on
Monday before a full bench of the Pretoria High Court. Pandor is seeking a
court order which will in effect force Horskool (High School) Ermelo to
become a parallel medium school.

School governing body removed

The Mpumalanga Education Department late last month relieved the school's
governing body of its duties, which included language policy, and replaced
it with a department-appointed committee. The committee decided the school
had to admit English-speaking pupils and educate them in their language of
choice, but the school last week obtained an urgent court order to suspend
the new policy, pending a substantive application to set aside the
department's decision. Pandor thereafter launched an urgent application
not only to rescind that court order, but also to be joined as a party in
the review application, saying she had a duty to protect the rights of
about 113 pupils, who were refused admission to the school because of its
Afrikaans-only policy. The school admitted 13 English-speaking pupils this
year after its language policy was forcibly changed. The department had
already approved the appointment of an extra teacher, but the school was
still waiting for learning material.

Space for English pupils

Counsel for the Minister, Adv B R Tokota, argued that the school, with its
500 plus pupils, was built to accommodate 1200 pupils and had "more than
enough space" for English pupils, while other schools in the area did not
have any space available. This resulted in many pupils now having to sit
at home while the minister had a duty to see to it that they were provided
with quality education in the language of their choice. "The right to
determine language policy has been withdrawn. The appointment of an
interim committee to make a decision was justified and correct and that
decision must stand until a court decides otherwise. "... You can withdraw
a governing body's function without any notice and without giving them a
hearing if the matter is urgent," Tokota said.

If people wanted the right to entrench their language at a school, they
could go to private schools and try to see if they could do it there.
Horskool Ermelo was a government-funded public school, he added. Senior
counsel for the school, Johan du Toit, said it was not the school's
argument that the governing body's rights could not be curtailed, but then
it had to be done legitimately. "Schools are put under tremendous pressure
through bad planning by the department. Then schools are made out as the
bullies when they seek to protect their rights.

'It's about language not race'

"About 35 previously disadvantaged pupils, who elected to be educated in
Afrikaans, were admitted over time. It's got nothing to do with race, it's
language that determines the admission policy, he said. Du Toit said if
the minister's argument was correct, it meant that all public schools
would have to offer more than one language of education. He argued that
the school's language policy was perfectly in compliance with the
Constitution. It was essential for the stability of the school that pupils
were not "thrown around" in this manner, he said. Transvaal Judge
President Bernard Ngoepe and Judges Willie Serriti and Natvarial Ranchod
reserved judgment.

http://iafrica.com/news/sa/626779.htm
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