SECTION27, representing a parent of three learners, has approached the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Johannesburg, for the re-enrollment of the learners, who have been excluded from a private school because of outstanding school fees. The hearing will be held at 10h00 on 9 June 2026. Two of the three learners are in Grade 12 and have been deregistered for their 2026 Independent Examination Board (IEB) examination. The third is a Grade 4 learner of compulsory school-going age.
The parent and the school have been engaged in ongoing disputes over fees for years. These disputes have led to the children facing ongoing disbarment from classes and school activities. The school in this case does not allege that the learners are academically unqualified, disruptive, or otherwise unsuitable to remain enrolled. Their exclusion is based solely on arrears. As a result, the children’s right to basic education hangs in the balance because of flouted procedure.
The school cancelled the contract on 7 May 2026. They had failed to provide the parent and her children with an opportunity to make representations prior to the cancellation of the contract. The school ought to have provided a fair hearing to the parent and her children, as to why the contract should not be cancelled. In doing so, the schools would have upheld the best interests of the child principle and not have infringed the right to basic education and dignity.
The Constitution does not prevent independent schools from enforcing contracts or recovering outstanding fees. Nor does it relieve parents of their financial obligations. It does, however, require that decisions affecting a child’s access to education, dignity, and future prospects be made lawfully and fairly and with the child’s best interests treated as paramount.
An independent school that has undertaken to educate a child carries a constitutional duty not to terminate that education without a fair process and proper regard for the child’s best interests. The refusal to register the Grade 12 learners for the 2026 IEB examinations places them at risk of losing an entire academic year. This could have far reaching ramifications for their education, their careers and their futures in general.
The Constitution guarantees everyone the right to a basic education. Unlike other socio-economic rights, this right is immediately realisable and not subject to progressive realisation or available resources. For Grade 12 learners, that right includes registration for and participation in examinations leading to the final IEB examination.
The respondents are allowed to recover what is owed to them; however, the process and the decision must not infringe on the learners’ constitutional rights to access basic education.
For media enquiries contact:
Pearl Nicodemus | nicodemus@section27.org.za | 082 298 2636
0 Comments