Johannesburg - The Department of Basic Education intends to make it unlawful for schools to refuse admission to pupils on grounds of their language policy.
It has also proposed a hardline approach to parents who fail to submit proof of child’s immunisation when applying for admission.
Principals should be empowered to deny admission to a pupil with no history of immunisation and whose parents refuse to immunise them after being told of the requirement.
The department has proposed these amendments to the admission policy for ordinary public schools. The public currently has a chance to comment on the proposed amendments.
In line with the current admissions policy adopted on October 19, 1998, parents should prove that their children have been immunised against the communicable diseases polio, measles, tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus and hepatitis B.
The old policy only required principals to advise the parent to immunise the child.
But the department now wants principals empowered to refuse admission.
“On application for admission, a parent must show proof that the pupil has been immunised,” said the document detailing the proposals.
“If a parent is unable to show proof of immunisation, the principal must immediately advise the parent in writing to have the pupil immunised as part of the free primary health-care programme.
“If the parent refuses or fails, within seven days from the date of the written communication referred to above, to submit proof of immunisation, the principal must not admit the pupil to the school and must refer the matter to the head of department for further direction,” it said.
The pupil won’t be allowed at school during the week parents are given to sort out immunisation.
“It is in the best interests of other pupils that a pupil without proof of immunisation must not be allowed on the school premises during the seven-day period referred to above,” the document read.
While it was not widely reported that South Africa faced an issue of parents being anti-child vaccination, the last South Africa Demographic and Health Survey indicated that child immunisation coverage in the country was “of major concern”.
Released by Statistics SA in 2016, it revealed that only 61% of children aged between 12 and 23 months had received all basic vaccinations. Among children 24 to 35 months, only 42% had received all the age-appropriate vaccinations. Only 53% had received all age-appropriate vaccinations.
The proposal to bar schools from declining enrolment based on language was a reaction to stand-offs the country has seen between African parents and Afrikaans-medium schools.
Revolts flared up outside Hoërskool Overvaal in 2018 after 55 non-Afrikaans speaking African pupils were declined admission on grounds of the school’s language policy.
The department has proposed that “no pupil may be refused admission to a public school based solely on the language policy” of a public school.
It said the power to determine a school language policy must be exercised with due regard to the values of the Constitution.
The school policy must take into “consideration what is fair, reasonably practicable, equity and the need to redress the results of past discriminatory laws and practices”.
The Star