Schools win big in court

The Eastern Cape education department risks having some of its assets attached if it continues not to pay teachers.

The Grahamstown High Court yesterday invoked the State Liability Act, which allows it to attach government property if the government does not pay its bills - in this case, the salaries of temporary teachers now employed permanently.

The court authorised 17 severely short-staffed schools to employ teachers without reference to the department if the department fails to act within 15 days.

The provincehas 8698 vacant teaching posts, according to its court papers.

Judge John Smith handed down the ruling in the Grahamstown High Court yesterday in a case brought by the Legal Resources Centre, acting on behalf of the Centre for Child Law.

The Legal Resources Centre asked the high court in August last year for an order that would force the provincial and national education departments to employ staff.

The provincial department employed only 2354 temporary teachers this year, some of whom were not paid on time.

In March, the LRC asked the court to order that 140 teachers be hired for 17 schools in need.

Yesterday was the third round of litigation, with the LRC saying that the "17 schools continued to limp along with unfilled vacancies, unpaid teachers and, at best, short-term temporary teacher appointments to fill some vacancies".

It asked that schools be allowed to bypass the provincial government in the employment of staff. In a major victory for the affected schools, temporary teachers can now be employed permanently.

The LRC said Education Minister Angie Motshekga had "failed in her obligations to ensure that the departments appointed permanent teachers".

The provincial department argued that the court would be exceeding its powers by doing the government's job, but the LRC said the court was constitutionally obliged to ensure that schools had teachers.

The centre used the national and provincial departments' own legal argument against them, saying they "themselves confirm that they are not in a position ... to appoint teachers. They confirm the administrative breakdown ... and that they are hamstrung in the implementation of their steps ... due to unions".

The court order is good news for Port Elizabeth's Cape Recife High School for children with special needs. Principal Jacques Hugo said 10 teachers on the state payroll were being paid by the school governing body. Classroom assistants have been employed to help disabled children turn pages and eat lunch because the department failed to do so.