Abstract:
The legislative and policy framework regulating compulsory education in
South Africa requires that learners beyond the age of fifteen enrol in an
adult education centre to meet their educational needs. Adult education
which has been called the “dysfunctional stepchild” of South African
education, is poorly regulated in terms of access and quality control.
Therefore, learners who are forced to leave the formal schooling sector are
not necessarily guaranteed a placement in an adult education facility. This
article focuses on a specific cohort of learners between the ages of fifteen
and eighteen who are technically children in terms of South African law
and therefore in need of special protection. In particular, the article
assesses the extent to which the constitutional rights of these learners are
violated by the current compulsory education legislative and policy
structure. These rights include the rights to basic education, equality as
well as the bests interests of the child.
