Supreme Court of Appeal Upholds Western Cape's New Public School Models

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed legal challenges brought by the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) and the nonprofit Equal Education, upholding the Western Cape's authority to establish new models for public schools. The ruling affirms the legality of the Western Cape Provincial Schools Education Act, which allows for the creation of collaboration and donor funded schools, as well as an independent schools evaluation authority and intervention facilities for learners guilty of serious misconduct.

The SCA found that education is a concurrent competence of both national and provincial governments. The court ruled that while collaboration and donor funded schools remain public schools, they are not the ordinary type contemplated by the South African Schools Act. This allows provincial departments to pass laws establishing these institutions, including those that deviate from standard rules regarding the constitution of school governing bodies.

Under the collaboration school model, nonprofit school operating partners receive 50 percent representation on school governing bodies. David Harrison, CEO of the DG Murray Trust, stated that this model uses donor funding to appoint additional staff and introduces close monitoring of curriculum delivery. He noted that academic performance in participating high schools has shown significant improvement, citing Silikamva High School in Houtbay, where the matric pass rate rose from 40 percent in 2019 to 100 percent in 2025.

Sadtu and Equal Education argued that these variations violated the South African Schools Act and undermined the democratic participation of parents. A spokesperson for Sadtu expressed disappointment with the outcome. The Western Cape education department welcomed the ruling, stating that the reforms are constitutional and focused on the best interests of learners.

Outlets with a center right lean framed the ruling as a victory for innovation and private sector expertise in improving school governance. In contrast, a center left perspective framed the ruling as a potential blow to radical change, arguing that the current bureaucratic uniformity of the public system stifles imaginative leadership and fails the poorest students.