South Africa: Legal victory for Section 27 in textbook case

Civil society grouping Section 27 has won a legal victory in the fight for basic education. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Limpopo Department of Education have so far failed to supply textbooks to learners and schools throughout Limpopo for the academic year of 2012. On 17 May 2012, following an application brought by Section 27 in the North Gauteng High Court, Judge Jody Kollapen held that this omission by the DBE and the Department constituted a violation of the constitutional right to basic education.