What’s clear is that SA’s current school admission policy has a serious effect on the access to basic education of both children who are SA citizens and those who are foreign nationals or stateless.
Is SA regularly denying children their right to access education as well as healthcare on the grounds either of petty bureaucracy or by a misinterpretation of the country’s laws and international obligations? The answer is yes. The country places limitations on children’s access to education and affordable healthcare. This is particularly true of migrant children. These limitations are, in my view, unconstitutional and in violation of SA’s international obligations. For example, SA is bound by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In the interpretation of this convention, the UN committee on economic social and cultural rights has emphasised that “all children within a state, including those with an undocumented status, have a right to receive education and access to adequate food and affordable healthcare”. However, SA isn’t living up to this promise. What’s clear is that SA’s current school admission policy has a serious effect on the access to basic ...
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