Abstract:
In South Africa, there is constitutional protection against segregation and unfair discrimination on
the basis of race. The connection between school integration and a legitimate governmental purpose
to further or achieve equal educational opportunities for everyone necessitates an investigation into
the meaning of equal educational opportunities for everyone. Transformation in South Africa relates
to the consolidation of democracy by eradicating social and economic inequalities that were generated
among others by the history of colonialism and apartheid. Remedial action (transformation) should be
assessed against five criteria – moral foundations, constitutional foundations, burdens on previously
disadvantaged groups, burdens on previously advantaged groups, and the existence of a logical
stopping point. Equity of access and the removal of institutional discriminatory practices will not
necessarily ensure the attainment of quality and equity in education, unless access and equity also imply
providing learners with an equal chance to succeed. In applying race classification policies in South
African schools, the best interests of the child shall be of paramount importance, such interests being
determined from a subjective, child-centred perspective which attempts to make race classification
meaningful from the child’s point of view.
