School admissions and principals' craft-competency and craft-literacy in case law compliance

Abstract

In the post apartheid state, education is viewed as an important tool for rapid socio-economic development. The economic, ecological, technological and political conditions that characterized the South African crisis were assumed to be a result of inadequate education partly due to Bantu education. Accordingly the new democratic government with the view of revamping the education system in compliance with the provisions as stipulated in the Constitution and other subordinate laws endeavoured to decentralize power and authority to School Governing Bodies (governance) and administrative management of schools to principals. It must be appreciated therefore that some among those who were appointed to positions of school principals lacked the craft-literacy and craft-competency skills to devise effective and efficient administrative management processes needed to produce functional schools in a constitutional democracy. The research therefore seeks to determine the levels of craft-competency and craft-literacy of public school principals in administering case law in schools as required by the Constitution of South Africa, 1996, the Employment of Educators Act, 76 of 1998 and The Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA), 3 of 2000 to mention but a few legislative instruments. In principals’ exercise of power and authority during the process of administering their schools, the administrative actions must be lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair in line with the relevant empowering provisions in their disposal. The qualitative case study used was meant to interpretively test the impact of the admissions policy as amended by The Education Laws Amendment Act, 50 of 2002 in public schools. It appears that only craft-competent and craft-literate principals are better positioned to adopt correct administrative actions that ensure that the rights of learners are not infringed upon and that their interests are taken care of at all times. It also seems that , generally speaking, principals lack craft-competency and craft-literacy skills and that they receive inadequate support.