Guidelines to achieve social justice through cooperatively governed education
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Date
2023
Authors
van der Merwe, Juanรฉ
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
One of the main objectives of our constitutional state is to establish a society based on social justice as contemplated in the ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ค ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ข 1996.ยน Indeed, social justice is also one of the central visions and ideals of the South African education system.ยฒ However, the public basic education system fails to provide equal access to the opportunities and rights required to achieve social justice. While schools may be accessible, learner attendance does not necessarily equate to quality education.ยณ
Historical geographic patterns of (dis)advantage continue to affect institutionsโ capacity to provide quality education and achieve equality of opportunity and outcomes. The historical influence of race on equitable opportunities and outcomes is compounded by geography and social class.โด In his discussion of the education markets, Ball states that in an ideal world, every parent would have the freedom to pick any school where they want their children to be educated.โต In the South African reality, however, this is not the case. In fact, parents from rural areas often have access to only one or two poorly resourced schools with poorly trained teachers, leaving them with not much choice for their childrenโs education.โถ These children might never enjoy the equal and quality education they should be receiving.โท In essence, therefore, for some, socioeconomic realities limit the constitutionally entrenched right to education.โธ
The implementation of the constitutional rights framework that enshrines equal access to quality basic education has been hindered by a number of deficiencies and failures. These include a a shortage of proficient educators and staff,โน an undervaluing of the pedagogical importance of the language of instruction,ยนยบ inadequate infrastructure (classrooms and physical space),ยนยน financial constraints and school quintiles,ยนยฒ and insufficient early childhood education.ยนยณ
While the Department of Basic Education continues to add to its complex framework of education policies, the risk is that these may function more as a vehicle for politics than being a bona fide attempt to achieve true social justice in education and work together to achieve this goal.ยนโด Detailed policies are often issued and strong political stances taken on specific social matters, but are not accompanied by the required will or funding to address the concern in practice. One example is the Departmentโs promotion of Grade R education to be made compulsory, though without allocating sufficient funds to incorporate it into the formal schooling system. In this way, policies are merely symbolic and social justice remains a pipe dream.ยนโต
The failure to provide adequate school infrastructure and facilitiesยนโถ also contributes to disparities in access to quality education. This causes regular disputes between the governing bodies of well-functioning schools and provincial education departments over schoolsโ capacity to admit additional learners.ยนโท Additionally, numerous disputes have resulted from provincial departmentsโ failure to fill educator positions or their abuse of power and overreach.ยนโธ
Where the different spheres of governmentยนโน and organs of stateยฒยบ do not cooperate and see eye to eye on the theory and practical realisation of social justice in education, the right to education of an equal standard, and by implication, to social justice is jeopardised.
The Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act (IRFA)ยฒยน includes a number of mechanisms and procedures to regulate the relationship and settle intergovernmental disputes between the national Department of Basic Education and provincial education departments.ยฒยฒ However, IRFA and the education laws are silent on alternative processes to be followed if school governing bodies and education departments, particularly in the provincial context, are locked in dispute, thus preventing the achievement of social justice.
This raises the question of how the relationship between school governing bodies and education departments could be guided and governed to ensure that it is peaceful and productive. The main aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to establish what the relationship between the national Department of Basic Education, provincial education departments and school governing bodies ought to be to comply with the imperative captured in chapter 3 of the ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ and realise social justice in education. Secondly, the dissertation seeks to develop guidelines to assist education departments and school governing bodies to achieve the principles of cooperative governance and settle any potential disputes between them. The ultimate goal is for relationships to remain intact as a prerequisite for safeguarding and promoting a democratic education system that is based on social justice. The partnership model for public school governance envisaged by the ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ด ๐๐ค๐ตยฒยณ is underpinned by the principle of cooperative governanceยฒโด set out in the Constitution.ยฒโต This compels the partners to cooperate in good faith.
In ๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ท ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ, ๐๐ช๐ท๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ,ยฒโถ the Constitutional Court held that cooperation between school governing bodies and national or provincial government was โrooted in the shared goal of ensuring that the best interests of learners are furthered and the right to basic education is realisedโ. Moreover, the court in ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ท ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญยฒโท stated that the provisions in the Schools Act were:
โฆ carefully crafted to strike a balance between the duties of these various partners [governing bodies, principals, heads of department, Members of Executive Council and the education minister] in ensuring an effective education system. โฆ [T]he interactions between the partners โ the checks, balances and accountability mechanisms โ are closely regulated by the Act.
The Constitutional Courtยฒโธ went on to state:
The importance of cooperative governance cannot be underestimated. It is a fundamentally important norm of our democratic dispensation, one that underlies the constitutional framework generally and that has been concretised in the Schools Act as an organising principle for the provision of access to education.
Given the nature of the partnership that the ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ด ๐๐ค๐ต has created, public school governing bodies and the state should be in a close cooperative relationship, recognising the partnersโ distinct yet interrelated functions. This relationship should be characterised by consultation and cooperation in mutual trust and good faith. The goals of providing quality education to all learners and developing their talents and capabilities depend on it.
In practice, however, this kind of cooperation in the education sector is yet to be established. Among the challenges that currently prevent the realisation of the constitutional imperative of cooperative governance are overreach and abuse of administrative power,ยฒโน tension relating to power and authority,ยณยบ failure to consult and meaningfully engage,ยณยน ineffective intergovernmental structures and dispute resolution,ยณยฒ and unethical leadership.ยณยณ
Description
Thesis (LL.D. (Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law))--University of the Free State, 2023