PER: 2011 Volume 14 No 6
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/7167
2024-03-29T15:08:49ZSexual harassment in the education sector
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/7187
Sexual harassment in the education sector
Smit, D; Du Plessis, V
Education should safely shape the minds and attitudes of young adults and children,
especially with the in loco parentis principle in mind. Young adults who have
experienced sexual harassment in the very environment that should have protected
them as learners suffer greatly from social problems and from emotional and
academic strain. Victims often become future harassers themselves. Sexual
harassment should be eradicated from the education sector in toto to ensure a safe
learning environment.
High incidences of harassment have been found among college students in
America, while a very small percentage of such transgressions have been reported.
Similar statistics in South African universities are not available, the problem is
therefore managed in a void. The position in schools is more alarming. In South
Africa it has been found that 30 per cent of girls are raped at school and that male
learners and educators are the main culprits.
Not only is the magnitude of this problem gravely underestimated, but the effect of
sexual harassment on learners has also not been managed properly. The authors
argue that the focus is on avoiding legal responsibility and accountability, rather than
on being proactive. The historic invisibility of sexual harassment in education can be
attributed to the wrongful silencing thereof.
2011-01-01T00:00:00ZThe right to dignity and restorative justice in schools
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/7186
The right to dignity and restorative justice in schools
Reyneke, M
A retributive and punitive approach is normally adopted in dealing with misbehaviour
in South African schools. Despite the legal abolition of corporal punishment, more
than 50 percent of schools still administer it. Other forms of punishment generally
applied are also punitive in nature. The right to dignity of all of the parties affected by
misbehaviour in schools is considered in this analysis. The possibility of adopting
restorative justice as an alternative disciplinary approach is examined as a way of
protecting, promoting and restoring the dignity of the victims of such misbehaviour.
2011-01-01T00:00:00ZThe obligation to provide free basic education in South Africa: an international law perspective
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/7185
The obligation to provide free basic education in South Africa: an international law perspective
Arendse, L
In South Africa many learners are denied the right to basic education because of the
levying of school fees and other educational charges, in spite of the international
obligation imposed on government to provide free primary education. This article
examines the exact nature and extent of this obligation by exploring the concept of
"free" basic education. The applicable international instruments and their
interpretation as well as the significance of the right to education as a central,
facilitative right are examined in order to establish the content of the right to basic
education and the legal obligations that ensue. Against this background, the
implications of the South African Constitutional Court's approach to the realisation of
socio-economic rights and the possibility of the establishment of a core minimum
obligation are analysed. It is argued that learners in South Africa may come from
different socio-economic backgrounds but as learners in the same public school
domain and as equal bearers of their constitutional right to basic education all of
them are entitled to the same type and quality of free basic education.
2011-01-01T00:00:00ZReligious and cultural dress as school: a comparative perspective
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/7184
Religious and cultural dress as school: a comparative perspective
De Waal, E; Russo, C J; Mestry, R
This article investigates and compares the different approaches towards the dress
code of learners1 in South Africa and the United States of America (US), as the US
mainly base litigation concerning school dress code on their freedom of
speech/expression clause, while similar South African court cases focus more on
religious and cultural freedom.
In South Africa, school principals and School Governing Bodies are in dire need of
clear guidelines on how to respect and honour the constitutionally entrenched right to
all of the different religions and cultures. The crisis of values in education arises from
the disparity between the value system espoused by the school and the community,
and that expressed in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which
guarantees learners' fundamental rights, including those of freedom of religion,
culture, expression and human dignity. On the one hand, the South African Schools
Act requires of School Governing Bodies to develop and implement a Code of
Conduct for learners, and on the other, that they strictly adhere to the Constitution of
the country when drawing up their dress codes. The right of a religious group to
practise its religion or of a cultural group to respect and sustain its culture must be
consistent with the provisions of the Bill of Rights (which is entrenched in the Constitution) and this implies that other rights may not infringe on the right to
freedom of religion and culture.
In the US, although there is no legislation that protects learners' freedom of religion
and culture at schools, their First Amendment guides the way. Their Supreme Court
respects the religious values of all citizens provided that they are manifested off
public school premises. While we acknowledge the existence of religious and cultural
diversity at South African schools, this paper focuses on the tension among and on
the existence of different approaches towards the human rights of learners from
different religious and cultural backgrounds in respect of dress codes.
2011-01-01T00:00:00Z