Last week’s Supreme Court judgment instructing the Barberton Primary School to admit seven black pupils could be used to compel the 12 last racially exclusive in the Transvaal to open their doors.
According to the Transvaal Education Department, there are three high schools and nine primary schools in the Transvaal which still bar access by race — the so-called Model Q schools, where “Q” stands for status quo.
Most are in small towns or rural areas. They are a minority in the Transvaal where there are 250 high schools and 610 primary schools.
The Barberton judgment last week ruled that the governing body of the school had acted illegally by refusing admission to the pupils after first giving the seven students permission to enrol.
After opposition to their admission from some parents, the governing of the school held a referendum, where 59 percent of parents voted against the black students attending that school.
TED director Ken Paine this week said the judgment was ‘the right thing because the original decision (of the governing body) was upheld.
“But”, he added, “it is not one that can be used as a threat (to other schools). These things will not happen overnight; you can’t go along and force them.”