Western Cape Education Department's Reaction to Court Judgment

Statement by Minister Donald Grant and Head of Education, Penny Vinjevold

We note Tuesday’s judgment in the High Court rescinding the court interdict made on Friday.

At no stage has the WCED attempted to shirk its responsibilities for its employees and learners involved. We share the real concerns of our teachers and our learners.

The WCED’s application in court was done for two reasons:

To make sure that all the relevant Government agencies are included in the court application.i.e. SAPS, Department of Community Safety and the City of Cape Town.

To immediately amend impracticable aspects of the order, i.e. That the more unrealistic demands on an education department, such as ensuring safe passage of people through Manenberg.

The application was heard in court yesterday where Equal Education conceded point number two above without argument.

This afternoon, judgment was handed down.

The judge rescinded the entire judgment made on Friday and called on applicants to monitor the situation, and if necessary, re-enrol the matter provided that all the necessary stakeholders are joined in the proceedings.

Let us be clear – the rescinding of the order does not reduce in any way the WCED’s commitment to ensuring the safety of our educators and learners.

This includes our full support for the safety plan put into place by SAPS after the meeting called by the WCED on Sunday.

We will continue to take whatever steps we can to ensure the safety of our staff and learners in the affected schools. This includes our full-cooperation with SAPS and other agencies responsible for the safety of the community.

The WCED will continue to monitor the situation and any decision to close a school will be made in the best interests of the learners and on advice from inter alia SAPS.