SASA – Chapter 2 (LEARNERS) Regulation 7 – Freedom of Conscience and Religion at Public Schools

7. Freedom of conscience and religion at public schools

Subject to the Constitution and any applicable provincial law, religious observances may be conducted at a public school under rules issued by the governing body if such observances are conducted on an equitable basis and attendance at them by learners and members of staff is free and voluntary.

It is important for School governing Bodies and principals avail themselves of all case law regarding this aspect of the Act. Here I wish to draw attention to the Hijab worn by Muslim women and the hairstyle of Rastafarians and the smoking of weed.

The following information is noteworthy.

In terms of the Charter therefore, and subject to the duty of reasonable accommodation (to which I will return in a moment), South Africans have a (basic, human) right to wear religious attire in private or in public (for e.g. in public schools, at the workplace, etc).

The right of pupils to wear religious attire in schools, is also specifically recognised in the National Policy on Religion and Education (issued in terms of the National Education Policy Act, 1996). In terms of the Policy, “religious observance” may “entail other dimensions such as dress, prayer times and diets, which must be respected and accommodated in a manner agreed upon by the school and the relevant faith authorities” (s 58 of the Policy).

A case in point, is that of MEC for Education: Kwazulu-Natal v Pillay, 2007. In this case, the Constitutional Court had to decide whether Durban Girls’ High School was right in refusing a Hindu pupil permission to wear a tiny gold nose stud to school, on the basis that the stud violated the school’s Code of Conduct which prohibited the wearing of all jewellery other than a certain type of earring and a wrist-watch. For the girl, the stud, although not obligatory or a religious rite, was an expression of Hindu culture.