In a landmark judgment, the Cape Town High Court has ruled that the Western Cape’s school admission system unfairly discriminates against black and marginalised learners. The case was brought by the advocacy group Equal Education and its law centre.
The court found that the provincial education department’s narrative blaming parents for late applications was insufficient, placing clear responsibility on the department to ensure adequate school placements. The ruling highlighted the plight of learners in areas such as Kraaifontein, Kuils River, and the Strand, who face being left out of the schooling system each year due to oversubscribed schools and a lack of planning.
Yolisa Piliso of Equal Education, who commented on the ruling, stated that the decision shatters the department’s “denial of the systemic challenge.” Piliso explained that the core issue lies with the department’s policy, which fails to adequately provide for late and extremely late applications—a common reality for families who relocate to the province seeking opportunities in December and January.
“The court has affirmed… that the Western Cape government hasn’t been making provision for these realities, and they are deeply entrenched in the system,” Piliso said.
As a result of the judgment, the Western Cape Education Department is now compelled to take proactive steps. According to Piliso, this includes a review of its admissions policy, to be conducted in consultation with parents and learners from affected communities. The goal is to create a policy that upholds learners’ rights to education, dignity, equality, and access.
The department declined an invitation to provide an on-air response but submitted a written statement. In it, they cited a dissenting judgment from the case, which stated the main ruling was “flawed” and argued the policy “does not discriminate, let alone unfairly so on the basis of race, poverty, place of birth, and social origin.”
Responding to the department’s statement, Piliso said it was “not surprising” the provincial government would highlight the dissent, as it favors their position. She reiterated that the department’s stance ignores its own “lack of planning” to secure enough school places for disadvantaged communities.
The court order now mandates a systemic overhaul of the province’s school admissions process to address the discriminatory practices identified.