The Limpopo Education Department has published financial guidelines for public schools that exceeds education officials’ authority and are not in line with legislation. Schools that do not adhere to these guidelines are threatened with the withdrawal of their section 21 rights, which determine that public schools may manage their own finances.

          The school governing body association FEDSAS has approached the High Court in Limpopo to set aside the Limpopo Education Department’s new guidelines for the management and administration of school funds. The department’s “Directives for the management and administration of school funds in public schools in the Limpopo Province” was signed on 31 January this year.

          “FEDSAS has decided to take legal action as many of these clauses are unlawful,” says Dr Juané van der Merwe-Mocke, Head of Legal Services and Deputy CEO of FEDSAS.

          “Some of the clauses assign powers to the provincial Head of Education that are exclusively assigned to school governing bodies according to the Schools’ Act. Other clauses are in direct violation of stipulations of the Schools’ Act and the National Norms and Standards for School Funding. Then there are stipulations that directly undermine school governing bodies’ authority pertaining to the management and administration of school finances. This creates serious practical and financial risks for schools.”

          Some of the controversial clauses include that the provincial Head of Education may require public schools to close existing bank accounts and that only specific types of bank accounts may be opened. Schools are also forced to appoint a finance officer for a term of three years, which directly undermines the SGB’s statutory mandate related to school finances and far exceeds the authority of the provincial Head of Education.

          Van der Merwe-Mocke says the biggest problem is that no reasonable consultation took place. “Since 2021 FEDSAS has made extensive written inputs, we were formally invited to comment, and we repeatedly requested feedback from the Limpopo Education Department. We even discussed the concept in person with the provincial Head of Education. Despite all these efforts, the provincial education department never provided any feedback. The final directives were published unilaterally without involving any school governing body organisations or other role-players.”

          In its application, FEDSAS is requesting the court to set aside the directives in their entirety. “Should the court decide against this, we request that the unlawful clauses be declared invalid. We are trying to prevent public schools from being forced to adhere to directives that are not in line with the provincial Head of Education’s authority.”

          Van der Merwe-Mocke says the application of these directives is already causing tension at public schools. “Schools have received instructions via WhatsApp and workshops are presented to enforce immediate implementation. This puts school principals and finance officers in a position that exposes them to possible disciplinary risks based on directives that are potential unlawful.”

          FEDSAS’s approach has always been that of collaboration as education partners. “In this case the provincial education department did not adhere to the principle of co-operative governance. FEDSAS has a duty towards its member schools to protect their statutory functions and rights and to ensure that public schools are managed in accordance with the law.”

          Van der Merwe-Mocke says there are many examples of provincial education departments exceeding their powers. “In this instance it is financial guidelines. In other instances, it could be admissions policy or post provisioning. However, it all boils down to constitutional education management and the protection of good school governance. This is also the focus of FEDSAS’s activities, and we will continue to protect and promote the rights of our members.”