In Conversation With Katherine Sutherland, Equal Education Law Centre Senior Researcher.
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Equal Education (EE) and the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) welcome the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) decision to extend the deadline for public comment for the Draft Regulations on the Admission of Learners to Public Schools and the Draft Regulations on Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for the Capacity of Ordinary Public Schools (the Draft Regulations) to 5 December 2025. However, we strongly urge that this extension not be just an administrative step. The DBE must use it to actively engage the communities that have been left out so far – particularly Black and working-class communities who are most affected by the education crisis.
On 27 September, EE and the EELC hosted an open public meeting in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, to engage parents, learners, and members of the broader school community on the Draft Regulations. The meeting provided a powerful platform for school communities to break down the content of the Drafts, voice their frustrations around overcrowding, unfair admissions practices, inequitable budget allocations, and to propose meaningful changes to the Draft Regulations.
School-going learners from several townships in Ekurhuleni reflected that overcrowding is a major issue that they currently face and a significant barrier to accessing their right to basic education. They reflected that overcrowding makes it hard to teach and learn effectively because it is difficult to concentrate in a classroom that has over 60 learners. This leaves them feeling demotivated, neglected and disengaged from learning, often causing them to fall behind with school work, and contributing to high failure rates. Learners also raised concerns about the undignified conditions of their school infrastructure; emphasising that the infrastructure is being overused, resulting in it breaking frequently and constantly needing maintenance.
On 27 September, EE and the EELC hosted an open public meeting in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, to engage parents, learners, and members of the broader school community on the Draft Regulations. The meeting provided a powerful platform for school communities to break down the content of the Drafts, voice their frustrations around overcrowding, unfair admissions practices, inequitable budget allocations, and to propose meaningful changes to the Draft Regulations.
School-going learners from several townships in Ekurhuleni reflected that overcrowding is a major issue that they currently face and a significant barrier to accessing their right to basic education. They reflected that overcrowding makes it hard to teach and learn effectively because it is difficult to concentrate in a classroom that has over 60 learners. This leaves them feeling demotivated, neglected and disengaged from learning, often causing them to fall behind with school work, and contributing to high failure rates. Learners also raised concerns about the undignified conditions of their school infrastructure; emphasising that the infrastructure is being overused, resulting in it breaking frequently and constantly needing maintenance.
