When the Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga informed the nation that the provisional date for the reopening of schools was 1 June, there was a groundswell of opposition from parents and education organisations. The Tebeila Institute of Leadership, Governance and Training was one of those taking the department to court over the reopening. However, Limpopo High Court Judge Gerrit Muller dismissed the case on 5 May, stating that the court had no jurisdiction over the matter.
The Department of Basic Education welcomed the judgment, saying the competent court would have been the Gauteng Division of the Court in Pretoria, which was where the offices of the Minister and the Department were located. Judge Muller agreed, and ordered both parties to cover their own costs.
According to a statement released by the department, it believed the institute was trying to stop it from implementing the recovery plan for schools in the context of Covid-19. The department argued that the proposed reopening had been developed together with provinces, other government departments, all stakeholders and civil society through a consultative process over a number of weeks.
The final decision on the re-opening of schools would only be made after the National Coronavirus Command Centre had approved the school recovery plans and was satisfied with the risk assessment completed, and the date on which schools would re-open would be determined by the readiness of schools to comply with all the regulations set out for them.
