South African trade union Solidarity has won its case against the department of social development, meaning preschoolers in the private sector can resume learning amid the ongoing Covid-19 health crisis.
The case was heard in the Pretoria division of the Gauteng high court on Monday.
In his ruling, Judge Hans Fabricius declared that "...all pre-school institutions offering Early Childhood Development [ECD] services are entitled to re-open immediately".
The case was brought by Solidarity's occupational guild for social workers and the Solidarity Support Centre for Schools (SCS), which sought the immediate reopening of private nursery schools and daycare centres if they were safely able to do so.
"The two organisations filed a case against the Department of Social Development [DSD] because no indication was given regarding a specific date for the reopening of these institutions," according to Solidarity.
It further said that the DSD "indicated" via a press release on June 5 that the early childhood development sector, consisting of Grade R and younger learners, may not reopen under level 3 lockdown regulations.
Fabricius declared this to be unlawful. He also ordered that the DSD pay the costs for Solidarity's legal counsel.
- African News Agency (ANA)
