Private schools in South African legal history

Abstract

Following the British model, the education laws of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope (later the Cape Province) and the Transvaal historically recognised a basic distinction between public schools and private schools. The churches played a leading role in the development of private schools, which made a significant contribution to education in South Africa, especially for black children. Private schools enjoyed a high degree of independence in the colonial and pre-apartheid period. However, these schools were brought to heel during the apartheid era, with admissions policies, curricula and language medium of instruction being brought under state control, thus impairing their independence and enforcing racial segregation.