Equal Education and Others v. Minister of Basic Education and Others, 22588/2020

Nature of the Case

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools in South Africa closed, limiting the delivery of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP), which provides a daily meal to all learners in South Africa who qualify based on economic need. The Minister of Education announced that schools would be reopened and the NSNP restored on June 8, 2020, but when the time came to reopen schools to some students, the NSNP meals were not delivered as promised. The applicants sued the Department of Basic Education for a violation of constitutional and statutory duties and sought declaratory relief with court oversight to achieve full implementation of the NSNP program as soon as possible.

Enforcement of the Decision and Outcomes

The court ordered the Minister and the eight MECs to produce a progress report every 15 days on the NSNP implementation situation. However, as of the first reporting period, only the Minister had filed a report to the court. No MECs filed reports with the court at the 15-day deadline, however many of them filed a day late. After reviewing the reports, the applicants contended that the programs and reports were insufficient, and they provided the respondents with notices that if these defects are not remedied in the next reporting period, they will seek further relief from the courts.

Significance of the Case

In times of national and international crisis, the right to food and the necessity of nutrition remain paramount even as food may become more difficult to disseminate. Schools are an obvious touchpoint for food access in nations with universal education.  Cutting back on such a program at a time of crisis breaches the social and economic rights to food, nutrition and education.  The court made an order that the school meals program be fully implemented without delay.  It also made a detailed order requiring regular reports, in order to provide accountability and to ensure that the program is actually implemented in accordance with the court’s order.

For their contributions, special thanks to ESCR-Net member: the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) at Northeastern University.