MEC: Department of Education, North West Province v Federation of Governing Bodies for South African Schools (FEDSAS)

The MEC and Head of Department for Education in the North West Province promulgated regulations in 2012 regulating the administration, control, admission and discipline of learners in public school hostels. These regulations followed complaints about unfair exclusion and expulsion of learners from hostels, high boarding fees, and abuse of authority, which in turn affected learners’ access to education, particularly in rural areas. FEDSAS challenged the regulations in the High Court, arguing that the MEC lacked the statutory authority to regulate hostels and that such powers resided exclusively with school governing bodies. The High Court agreed and declared the regulations unlawfully promulgated and void. The MEC and HoD appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Leave to appeal was granted; the appeal was upheld; the High Court order was set aside and replaced with an order dismissing the application. No order as to costs was made.

The case affirms the authority of provincial education MECs to regulate public school hostels as part of their constitutional and statutory duty to ensure access to basic education. It clarifies the non‑exclusive nature of school governing bodies’ powers and emphasises that hostels are an integral component of the right to basic education, particularly for rural and disadvantaged learners.