Registration and the Law for Homeschooling in South Africa

I was going to leave a post about Legal issues for later, but since it currently in the news, I thought I had better address it.

The issue that is possibly the toughest for all homeschoolers' in South Africa is whether to register with the Department of Education or not. Much confusion surrounds this issue. And many are afraid to ask questions, and perhaps do not even know who to address their questions to.

So what are we to do?

Be informed, before you make a decision. And that's what this post attempts to assist you with. I have attempted to not push either for or against registration,
but rather to inform you of the facts. Please take a moment to read on.

Because we live in South Africa, it is very important that you read the legislation pertaining to South African Education, ie The Schools Act, Act 84 of 1996.

Under Section 51 of this act, home education is made provision for.
You can read it here: http://www.info.gov.za/acts/1996/a84-96.pdf

When you read the act well, you'll probably note the ambigious language used with regards to
registration of home learners.

That is why registration is still such a grey area: it is interpreted by some
officials as mandatory.

Each provincial Department of Education has a different manner of dealing with registration issues
in this Act. And even within one department opinions may differ. Each DOE has a different set of
forms and different requirements for those homeschoolers registering.

I'd also recommend visiting the website of your local Department of Education, and just see what
they have about homeschooling on their site. This will give no guarantees, but you may see what type of
forms/requirements they have. A phone call is also a "private secure" way of doing this,
with no commitment.

It is interesting to note that, at the time of writing this, November 2008, the Gauteng DOE site
actually has a lot of supportive information and links to homeschool curriculum from their site!

Some homeschoolers' have a good relationship with the DOE and are registered.
Others, even those in the same area, may not be so fortunate.

If you do register, take note of what is required by the Act and do not
let officals attempt to expect anything other than that from you.
Unfortuantely some officials are not familiar with the Act themselves!

Also, try to familiarise yourself with what OBE (and the RNCS)
actually is, and how you think it would impact your family if you
followed it, because by registering you agree to do "continious assessment" on your child
and you must use a curriculum approved by the State, which is OBE.

Try to get the curriculum statements for the Grades you
will be teaching first, and read them. You can read about OBE here:
http://www.mml.co.za/outcome_based_education.htm

Remember that students only have to pass the critical outcomes to be
promoted to the next grade, which should be easily attainable for an average student
who has no learning disability. Read the critical outcomes and you'll see.

Lastly, remember that there is a Homeschool Legal Defense Fund for homeschoolers,
called the Pestalozzi Trust. However do note that they only will assist their paid up
member families in legal issues relating to homeschooling. The trust has produced an informative booklet regarding the legal issues of homeschooling. It is in pdf format and you can read it here: http://www.gesels.info/pestalozzitrust/brosjures/legalissues.pdf
The Pestalozzi Trust may be contacted at (012) 330 1337 or via e-mail: leendert@pestalozzi.org


I know this the registration issue is not an easy one and am not attempting to sway your decision
either way, but rather attempting to inform you.

Think long and hard either way would be my advice.

Please e-mail me should you need further information or if you wish to comment about this post.

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