Private schools face massive upset in South Africa: report
A legal opinion from the office of the chief state law adviser is reportedly causing a stir among private schools that offer alternative curricula in South Africa, exacerbating tensions between independent schools and the state.
The opinion, as reported by the Sunday Times, is of the view that schools offering curricula and qualifications that are not registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) are ultimately breaking the law and “defrauding” parents and learners who use them.
This includes schools using the Waldorf curriculum, Montessori curriculum and the Accelerated Christian Education programme. There are over 500 schools in South Africa offering these curricula, the paper said.
The legal opinion also said that any entity offering a foreign qualification not registered on the NQF was doing so illegally.
According to the Sunday Times, this includes IGCSE, AS Level and A Levels offered by Cambridge International, the GED offered by the US and a programme offered by the International Baccalaureate organisation – all of which are not registered on the NQF.
The opinion reportedly states that schools following an alternative curriculum other than the national curriculum statement (NCS) are breaking the law in terms of the South African Schools Act (SASA).
The NCS gives a broad overview of the skills and knowledge the Department of Basic Education believes learners in the country need to be equipped with to get to and pass the matric exams.
The department’s overview of the NCS says that its main purpose is to:
- Equip learners, irrespective of their socio-economic background, race, gender, physical ability or intellectual ability, with the knowledge, skills and values necessary for self-fulfilment and meaningful participation in society as citizens of a free country;
- Provide access to higher education;
- Facilitate the transition of learners from educational institutions to the workplace; and
- Provide employers with a sufficient profile of a learner’s competencies.
This statement is best encapsulated through the official school curriculum, known as the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) – the comprehensive policy document, which has, since 2012, replaced the various guidelines for all the subjects listed in the National Curriculum Statement Grades R – 12.
Learners who follow the CAPS programme go on to write the exams managed by the quality assurance council, Umalusi.
The Independent Examination Board (IEB) – one of the most prolific curricula used by private schools in South Africa – uses the South African national curriculum, which is regulated by the Department of Basic Education, but offers its own testing standards and is registered with Umalusi.
Umalusi said that independent schools seeking to register with it have to offer the National Senior Certificate (NSC) as a baseline but are allowed to expand on it.
Schools in South Africa are under intense focus at the moment, with the government looking to make changes through the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (BELA bill), which is currently sitting with parliament.
The portfolio committee on education has been hearing public and stakeholder feedback about the bill in recent weeks and has faced massive pushback from parents and those in the education sector.
The bill wants to make a host of changes at school – from wresting control from school governing bodies (SGBs) and giving it to regional heads of department in government, to allowing the sale of alcohol at post-school events.
The laws also want to change language policies at schools, which has become one of the more controversial proposals.
Organisations pushing back against the bill have argued that the laws are a poorly veiled attempt by the government to centralise control of the education sector, taking power away from individual schools and parents to decide what is best for their children and how to go about their education.
This argument has also been expressed by some groups over the legal opinion on independent schools.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, the organisations representing the independent curricula pushed back against the opinion, saying that any declaration making the courses unlawful would be unconstitutional. Others argued that their learners sat and passed the NSC exams, while others said they are willing to register with Umalusi.
The Department of Basic Education told the paper that its position would be made public at the right time.
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