Donald Grant has approached the ConCourt for leave to appeal an order to keep 17 schools open which he had decided to close.
|||Cape Town - Education MEC Donald Grant has approached the Constitutional Court to seek leave to appeal against an order handed down in the Western Cape High Court last year regarding the closure of 17 schools.
The move comes just days after Judge Siraj Desai, in agreement with Judge Elizabeth Baartman, gave reasons for granting an interim interdict to prevent Grant from closing the schools on December 31.
The decision was not unanimous since Judge Dennis Davis, who also sat on the full bench, didn’t agree.
“I do this (seek leave to appeal) because, having considered the pleadings, transcripts of the hearing and the judgment itself, I am of the view that the case presented by the counsel representing us in the hearing of that matter was not given its due accord by the majority of the court prior to it reaching its decision in this matter and that the decision itself is not in the interests of all the learners in this province, nor indeed the country,” Grant said on Tuesday.
He said the “longevity” of the interim interdict had been made almost indefinite because of the wording chosen by the court when the order was handed down.
“In terms of this order, even if we win the review application, due to be heard in May, and show that the reasonable prospects of success (upon which the interdict order was premised), do not in fact exist, the interdict will still remain in place if the applicants choose to appeal that review order.”
He said this meant that there could still be a three- to five-year process after May during which the schools could not be closed and needed to be maintained and staffed, no matter what the attendance numbers would be in years to come.
“This will vitally affect our planning and preparation for the 2014, 2015 and ongoing school years, including the budgets for the maintenance of old schools, the opening of new schools and the closing of schools.” Grant said he had submitted an affidavit to the Constitutional Court that addressed all the concerns as well as a number of factors affected by the order, including the power of provinces to close schools.
ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za
Cape Argus