Court to rule on Cape school closures
2012-12-19 08:06
Cape Town - A ruling on an application to halt the closure
of 18 schools on the Cape flats and further afield was expected in the Western
Cape High Court on Wednesday.
A full bench of the court heard argument on Tuesday.
The schools, their governing bodies and the SA Democratic
Teachers' Union are seeking an interdict against provincial education MEC
Donald Grant and Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga to prevent the
schools being shut down on 31 December.
The application seeks to prevent Grant or the department
from closing or merging the schools and moving pupils, teachers, and resources.
It also asks for subsidies and salaries to be paid in the
interim and that the department be forbidden from interfering in school
operations.
Grant announced in October that, after careful
consideration, the schools would be closed because of low enrolment numbers,
multi-grade classes and a decline in pupil numbers.
Beauvallon Secondary School principal Henry Hockey, in an
affidavit on behalf of all applicants, said the closures were unlawful and
unconstitutional.
- SAPA
