Response to Prof Thilo Marauhn's Opening Address on ’Land Tenure and Good Governance from the Perspective of International Law

In an earlier judgment[1] on the right to education delivered by the South African Constitutional Court (the Constitutional Court), the principal focus was on the restriction of access to education through the implementation of the language policy of the school. Language, however, is only one barrier preventing access to education in South Africa. Learners countrywide are denied the right to basic education because of the levying of school fees and other educational charges.[2] This practice is prevalent in spite of the international obligation imposed on the South African government to provide free primary education. This article examines the exact nature of this obligation by exploring the concept of "free" basic education. * Lorette Arendse, Lecturer, Department of Legal History, Coparative Law and Legal Philosophy University of Pretoria. E-mail: Lorette.arendse@up.ac.za [1] Head of Department: Mpumalanga Department of Education v Hoërskool Ermelo 2010 2 SA 415 (CC). [2] Centre for Applied Legal Studies and Social Surveys Africa National Survey.