Judgment postponed in battle over school standards

Judgment in the case of Equal Education versus Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has been postponed to Thursday July 19.

The verdict was supposed to have been handed down on Tuesday in the Bhisho High Court‚ but Judge Bantubonke Tokota said there were still "technical" issues that needed to be dealt with.

"Based on those issues the judgment has been postponed for Thursday‚" he said.

The case‚ which was heard in March this year‚ seeks to hold Motshekga accountable for the government's failure to ensure proper norms and standards at schools. These standards attempt to ensure that the government provides pupils with adequate access to water‚ sanitation and electricity‚ for example.

Motshekga argued that the blame should not fall on her alone but should be shared by other departments‚ such as public works‚ which is responsible for building schools and providing proper toilets.

Equal Education provincial leader Luzuko Sidimba said he was not happy with the postponement. “We were really hoping this would come to an end today. It’s unfortunate that it had to be delayed due to technical problems‚” he said.

“This is a very important judgment‚ where South African learners will finally know their constitutional rights."