The Centre for Child Law, together with a number of community-based school crisis committees and the Legal Resources Centre, successfully sued the Eastern Cape Provincial Government, the national Government and the OR Tambo municipality in the Eastern Cape for failing to meet their obligations to provide adequate school infrastructure, buildings, desks and chairs to very vulnerable children in seven schools in the Eastern Cape.

The schools are housed in unsafe mud structures that lack adequate infrastructure, desks, chairs or water despite the promises and undertakings made by the departments of education to address these backlogs over the last few years. Despite these promises, not only has no progress been made but no plans have been put in place to do so notwithstanding the numerous requests and approaches by the local communities and the Centre for Child Law.

The Child Law Centre and communities in question ultimately resorted to suing the government. They asked the High Court to:

• compel the national and provincial governments to develop and implement plans to provide proper, appropriate and adequate school facilities and infrastructure;
• compel the local government to provide adequate water to the schools;
• declare the failings in this regard to be unconstitutional; and,
• monitor progress by requiring three monthly reports from government reporting on steps taken towards remedying the situation at the schools.

Outcome

The matter was settled out of court in favour of the seven schools and their communities. The fact that it was settled is in some ways a pity as this victory would have been a valuable precedent which would have taken the right to education forward in South Africa. Nonetheless, the settlement was an unequivocal victory for the communities, children and schools in question.

The salient terms of the agreement are that:

• Of the R 8.2 billion set aside for replacing inadequate structures at schools across South Africa between 2011 and 2014, R 6.36 billion will be allocated to schools in the Eastern Cape, including the seven schools in question.

• The national government will oversee the appointment of service providers and delivery of contracted services to upgrade the schools and facilities. This is significant as it side-steps the provincial government which has failed its responsibilities in this regard, which failing ultimately led to the law suit.

• The local municipality will provide water to the schools.

• The departments of education and the government will submit progress reports every four months detailing steps that have been taken towards fulfilling their obligations in terms of the settlement agreement.

WEB LINKS FOR THIS ARTICLE

The “mud schools” Settlement Agreement

Notice of Motion in the case

Founding affidavit in the case