Share

High Court sets aside bid to have Hoërskool Overvaal admit 55 English-speaking learners

Pretoria – The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has set aside the decision by the Gauteng department of education to admit 55 learners to be taught in English, into Hoërskool Overvaal, an Afrikaans medium school.

Judge Bill Prinsloo has found in favour of Hoërskool Overvaal in that the school does not have the capacity to admit the additional learners. 

"The instruction by the District Director of Sedibeng East, to place further learners for enrolment is set aside," said Prinsloo.

"I find that on the probabilities that the school has no capacity to receive the 55 English learners, let alone of such short notice and convert to a dual medium school."

He further said the District Director and perhaps Head of department and MEC Panyaza Lesufi acted in conflict with the constitutional principal of legality, and that the decision to admit the additional learners was unlawful.

READ: Changing demographics behind decision to place English pupils at Hoërskool Overvaal, court hears

The school’s governing body brought an urgent application before the court in a bid to overturn Lesufi's decision.

The school claims to be at capacity, with 621 pupils, but the Gauteng department of education argued that it could take 840.

The school argued that instructions from the education department did not negate its own language policy.

After judgment was handed down, parents of the affected pupils, who had been attending the court case, started shouting that they would shut down and burn the school.

Addressing them in the court room, Lesufi said this is a short-lived victory for the school and vowed to appeal the judgement.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 73 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 107 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
19.09
-1.0%
Rand - Pound
24.06
-0.7%
Rand - Euro
20.58
-0.5%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.39
-0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.9%
Platinum
894.64
-0.3%
Palladium
992.99
-0.9%
Gold
2,196.85
+0.1%
Silver
24.44
-0.8%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
67,964
+0.4%
All Share
74,173
+0.4%
Resource 10
56,465
+1.4%
Industrial 25
103,617
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,480
-0.3%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE