However, he was critical of the ruling.
“This does not make sense, as the parties had the right and opportunities to join the matter if they had interest. We saw no reason to include the Cogta minister and MECs because we were not challenging the lockdown regulations or the Disaster Management Act,” he said.
“We were challenging the reckless and deadly decision by basic education minister Angie Motshekga.”
Mahlobogwane said the union was not opposed to schools reopening but called for a form of education that would not endanger the lives of pupils or teachers.
“We believe the fact that schools had reopened was what made our application more urgent, as infections have forced more than 90 schools to close across the country within two days,” he said.
“Some learners from poor schools where PPEs are still not delivered are neglected.”
The union said it would study the judgment and make a decision on what steps to take.