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<div class="gmail-titles"><h1>Race and Language: ConCourt misses chance to guide transformation of the education system</h1>
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By Nurina Ally and Samantha Brener<span>•</span> 14 August 2018 </p>
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Protesters hold placards and shout
slogans during a protest at the Hoerskool Overvaal school against the
Afrikaans language government school to allow English language learners,
Johannesburg, South Africa, 25 January 2018. EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOK
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In dismissing the provincial education
department’s appeal in the Overvaal case at the end of July, the
Constitutional Court has failed to seize an opportunity to clarify how
inequality in public education might be redressed.
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<div class="gmail-at-above-post gmail-addthis_tool"></div><p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">In
January 2018 Höerskool Overvaal, an Afrikaans-medium school in Gauteng,
was at the centre of a heated admissions battle highlighting ongoing
race and language cleavages in the education system. </span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">Tensions
emerged after officials from the Gauteng Department of Education
instructed the school to open its doors to 55 English-speaking learners.
Of the over 600 learners at Höerskool Overvaal, 95% are white. Despite
the changing demographics of the surrounding community, the school fails
to reflect this transformation.</span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-hasreactions gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span><span class="gmail-antenna-reaction-total gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">The
school governing body resisted. A legal fight ensued with a High Court
judgment in favour of the school. The provincial department appealed the
decision directly to the Constitutional Court. On 25 July, the court
surprisingly refused to even entertain the issue. It found, without
granting leave for a hearing, that the department’s case bore no
prospects of success. </span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">The
summary dismissal of the matter by the highest court is unfortunate.
Höerskool Overvaal is not an isolated case. In a 2016 High Court case,
the Federation of Governing Bodies for South African Schools (FEDSAS)
presented statistics showing that over 70% of learners at a sample of
its Gauteng member schools (the majority being Afrikaans-medium) were
white. </span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">In
those same papers, it was undisputed that a number of Afrikaans
single-medium schools in the province have employed their language
policies as the basis for barring black learners in applicable
feeder-zones from applying to the school. FEDSAS recognised that “there
are apparently instances where schools have used their language policies
as a mechanism for screening applications in a manner that suggests
that the screening occurs with racist intent”.</span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">There
is clearly still much guidance to be provided to schools, provincial
officials and indeed lower courts on how best to approach issues
impacting on transformation of the public education system. </span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">In
its urgent court application, the school argued that it was full – it
should not be forced to take the English-speaking learners when there
were English-medium schools in the area with capacity. The High Court
agreed. The school and the High Court maintained that a sprinkling of
black Afrikaans-speaking learners demonstrates sufficient commitment to
transformation. Referring to the Afrikaans white community at the school
as an “embattled minority”, the High Court judgment appeared to lend
credence to the current demographics of the school. Moreover, the high
court granted judgment in favour of the school without hearing directly
from the 55 learners whose admission was the subject of debate, which is
an important principle that the provincial department sought to have
clarified on appeal. </span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">The
approach of the school governing body of Höerskool Overvaal as well as
the High Court judgment does not reflect adequate consideration of the
need for redress in the education system.</span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">Prevailing
racial disparities in public education cannot be left unchallenged. The
Constitution demands radical transformation. As the Constitutional
Court has, under the pen of former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang
Moseneke, held: “In an unconcealed design, the Constitution ardently
demands that this social unevenness be addressed by a radical
transformation of society as a whole and of public education in
particular.”</span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">There
are powerful mechanisms in legislation that enable the national and
provincial departments of education to deal with issues of uneven
learner enrolment at a systemic level – including powers to determine
when a school has reached capacity. These powers exist precisely so that
the transformation and redress requirements of the Constitution can be
met. Unfortunately, time and again, the courts have had to remind
officials of the importance of due process, meaningful engagement and
the need to follow legislative prescripts. </span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">Yet
whilst provincial departments have been admonished for their hasty and
sometimes roughshod approach to admissions decisions, the Constitutional
Court has previously not shied away from ensuring that the imperative
of transformation is not left in doubt. </span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">In <i>H</i>ö<i>erskool Ermelo</i>,<a class="gmail-sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-08-14-race-and-language-concourt-misses-chance-to-guide-transformation-of-the-education-system/#sdfootnote1sym" name="sdfootnote1anc" target="_blank"><sup>1</sup></a>
an Afrikaans-medium school refused to admit English-speaking black
learners from nearby townships despite the school having excess
capacity. The provincial department then attempted to revoke the power
of the school governing body to set language policy. The Constitutional
Court found that the provincial department’s revocation of the language
policy unacceptable for procedural reasons. But it also ordered
Höerskool Ermelo to review its language policy to ensure its alignment
with the Constitution, and reminded it that no form of racial
discrimination may be practised in implementing a language policy. It
held: <i>“(</i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">The power to determine
language policy) must be understood within the broader constitutional
scheme … taking into consideration what is fair, practicable and </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><u>enhances historical redress</u></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">.”</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"> (Our emphasis.)</span> </span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">In the case of <i>Rivonia Primary School</i>,<a class="gmail-sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-08-14-race-and-language-concourt-misses-chance-to-guide-transformation-of-the-education-system/#sdfootnote2sym" name="sdfootnote2anc" target="_blank"><sup>2</sup></a>
the provincial education department overturned a decision that the
school was full to capacity, and physically placed a learner at the
school. The Constitutional Court affirmed that the provincial department
is entitled to require admission of a learner beyond the capacity set
out in a school’s admission policy, whilst emphasising the importance of
due process, co-operation and meaningful engagement in the best
interests of learners. It found that “(b)<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">oth
provincial government and individual schools have to grapple with
systemic capacity problems and their impact on education. At school
level, parents and governing bodies have an immediate interest in the
quality of children’s education…. However, the needs and interests of
all other learners cannot be ignored</span>”.</span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">It
is implicit in both of these judgments that provincial departments have
a duty to ensure that the needs of all schools and learners in an area
are considered when decisions regarding admissions are made. It is also
clear that the court requires schools and provincial departments to
properly cooperate and engage in the interests of learners. However,
despite this existing case law, situations like that which arose at
Höerskool Overvaal this year demonstrate that more detailed guidance is
needed. </span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">The
papers in the Overvaal case reveal high levels of tension. They show
factual disputes related to the capacities of surrounding schools,
protests regarding admissions during years prior to the case, as well as
demonstrations, counter-demonstrations and racially-polarised
confrontations subsequent to the High Court judgment. </span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">A
judgment of the Constitutional Court could have clarified the role of
principles such as equity and redress in admissions decisions,
particularly where enforcement of language policies impede
transformation. The Constitutional Court also missed an opportunity to
expand on how the meaningful engagement and prioritisation of the best
interests of the learners involved should be practically implemented. </span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">The
Constitutional Court justices should not be reluctant to hear future
cases involving provincial departments and school governing bodies
contesting each other’s terrain. It is the very recurrence of these
cases which shows that jurisprudence on issues such as meaningful
engagement, the interplay between language and admissions policies, and
the importance of redress and equity in the public education system can
and should be refined. <u><b>DM</b></u></span></span><span class="gmail-antenna gmail-antenna-text-indicator-widget gmail-antenna-reset gmail-antenna-suppress gmail-antenna-nohint"> <span class="gmail-antenna-text-indicator-inner gmail-antenna-reset"><span class="gmail-antenna-logo gmail-antenna-reset"></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large"><i>Nurina Ally is Executive Director at Equal Education Law Centre and Samantha Brener an attorney at SECTION27</i></span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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