Stifling transformation through the manipulation of enrolment : a case study of two public high schools in Gauteng Province

Abstract

This article reports on an investigation into how admission policies in general and the ‘zoning' policy in particular are applied by the School Governing Bodies (SGBs) of two particular former Model C secondary schools in a town in the Gauteng Province, Republic of South Africa. It also examines the admission criteria currently in use against the background of allegations that the application of these criteria is a veiled attempt to exclude black learners from schools in order to retain a white learner majority. It also considers what can be termed the ‘channelling’ of learners. Interviews were conducted with a sample of disgruntled parents, a chairperson of the school governing body (SGB) of one of the schools and the principals of two unrelated schools, which were mentioned during the interviews with the disgruntled parents.