School's out forever: Supreme Court confirms closure of Uitsig Secondary

A Cape Town school's death knell has been sounded by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The court dismissed an appeal by the governing body of Uitsig Secondary School, near Elsies River, against education MEC Debbie Schäfer's 2017 decision to close it.

Schäfer said on Wednesday that she would now consult education officials and legal advisers about the next steps, which would be taken in the best interests of the school's remaining pupils, who number fewer than 100.

She said decreasing pupil numbers and relentless vandalism and theft meant the school was no longer viable. 

"Even security guards ... have been too scared to go to the school. Our teachers are scared, and there are two other schools within a kilometre of this school which can accommodate learners," she said.

"In addition, learner performance at the school is very low, with the school only achieving a 15.4% pass rate in 2018."

The MEC renewed her attack on Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich, who has been prominent in the campaign to save Uitsig. "We cannot allow individuals with personal vendettas and agendas to continue to hold our learners and communities hostage," said Schäfer.

"After years of protracted and costly court battles, where learners were found to be supporting court applications as proxies for political aims, rather than being in the classroom, I really do hope that the decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal now provides objective clarity on the matter.

"Provided that we can now finally close this school without further obstruction, learners can at last be relocated to better schools to receive the quality education that they deserve."