The constitution protects the right of language, religious and cultural diversity at schools, and rules out discrimination on the basis of race. Every person has the right to equal access to educational institutions. The government is to lay down uniform and equitable admission practices in all state and state-aided schools. Criteria for affirmative action is to be part of this. The government is committed to providing free and compulsory education up to and including Standard Seven.
Free education is to be phased in as resources become available.
The nature of local school governance and models inherited from the previous government is the subject of lively debate among policy makers and the broad public. Much of the debate over the elimination or maintenance of the controversial Model C relate to access of the majority of the black schooling population to these schools. A private school where the teachers are employed by a board of governors or management body, which determines the number of teachers on the staff, their salaries and service conditions. The state pays either a 15 percent or 45 percent subsidy, depending on whether the school meets certain criteria, such as syllabus requirements and adequate facilities. Model B A state school with admission policy determined by the management committee, provided whites make 51 percent of the enrolment.