High Court Orders Minister of Education to Restart School Feeding Scheme Immediately

High Court Orders Minister of Education to Restart School Feeding Scheme Immediately

The Gauteng North High Court has ruled that the minister and the provincial cabinet members for education (MECs) from eight provinces had violated the right of access to basic nutrition for learners. This from an article in the Daily Maverick, here.

Judge Sulet Potterill ordered the minister and MECs to each develop a plan to fully resume the programme within ten days.

According to the Judge: “The essence of this matter can be aptly captured as ‘For now I ask no more than the justice of eating.’”

The court case was brought by SECTION27 on behalf of Equal Education and two school governing bodies in Limpopo. The Minister of Basic Education Mrs Angie Motshekga, opposed the case.

According to an article by GroundUP, children in Peddie in the Eastern Cape are resorting to eating wild plants to fight hunger.

Access to basic nutritions for learners is a constitutional right

The court that access to basic nutritions for learners is a constitutional right. And the minister and education MECs from eight provinces have violated that right.

Stated the Judge: “Continued breach by the Minister and MECs will leave millions of children hungry through the cold winter and as long as lockdown lasts. Hunger is not an issue of charity, but one of justice.”

Judge Potterill: “A more undignified scenario than starvation of a child is unimaginable. The morality of a society is gauged by how it treats its children. Interpreting the Bill of Rights promoting human dignity, equality and freedom can never allow for the hunger of a child…

Minister to report back to the High Court every 15 days

The judge granted a “supervisory order”. This order means the minister and MECs must submit reports to the court and applicants every 15 days. And they must keep on reporting every 15 days till the court allows them to stop reporting.

Biggest feeding scheme in Africa

The school feeding scheme in South Africa was the biggest feeding scheme in Africa before it was shut down at the start of the covid-19 lockdown.

Since then there has been a scramble by many different bodies to help feed the 9 million children who received two meals per day at schools previously.

Read more about the fight to restart the feeding of 9 million school kids, on the Daily Maverick.

Author: Jan Badenhorst, CEO, Matric College
Date Published: 18 July 2020