UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS

May/June 2023

LCP4809

Education Law

100 Marks
Duration FOUR (4) Hours

First examiner: Ms M Ehrenbeck

Second examiner: Adv NC Malatsi

This paper consists of 7 pages.

Instructions:

1. The examination question paper counts 100 marks.

2. It consists of four (4) number of questions. Answer ALL the questions.

3. The duration of the examination on the timetable is four (4) hours.

4. In addition to the duration of the examination indicated on the timetable, you are given 30
minutes to FINALISE the uploading of your exam file. Your exam file must be uploaded
via the myExams platform on 19 May 2023 BEFORE 18:45 (South African Standard
Time).

5. This is an open-book examination. You may consult your prescribed study material during
the examination.

6. This examination is proctored via the Invigilator App. You are required to activate (or log in
to) the Invigilator app between 14:00 and 14:45 (South African Standard Time).

The QR code is below:

Open Rubric
6.1 Please note: If a student is found to have been outside the invigilator app for a total of 10
minutes during their examination session, they will be considered to have violated Unisa's
examination rules and their marks will be withheld.

6.2 You only have 15 minutes after the due time to submit your script on the Invigilator
App.

6.3 You will have 48 hours from the date of their examination to upload your invigilator
results from the Invigilator App. Failure to do so will result in students deemed not to have
utilised the invigilation or proctoring tools.

7. The uploading of your exam file on the myExams platform must be finalised within 30
minutes of the scheduled (timetabled) end of the examination.

7.1 When ready to submit, open the Take-Home (Assignment) assessment again and click on
the Add Submission button.

7.2. Note the file requirements such as:

a. File size limit.
b. Number of files that can be submitted.
c. File formats allowed.

7.3. Check the acknowledgment checkbox and upload your answers document and then click
on the Save changes button.

2
7.4. Review your submission information regarding the status and click on your submission file
link to check if it's correct.

7.5. If you need to resubmit a file, you can click on the Edit Submission button. Note: You will
need to delete any existing files.

3
7.6 Use proper PDF conversion software to create the final file for upload. Free PDF conversion
software is available on the Internet.

7.7 Add your student number and the module code in the file name. That will assist you to select
the correct document to upload during submission.

7.8 You are advised to preview your submission (answer script) to ensure legibility and that the
correct answer script file has been uploaded.

8. The cover page for your take-home exam must include your name, student number and the
module code.

9. It is preferred that your take-home exam is typed. However, handwritten submissions will
also be accepted. If the take-home exam is typed, the maximum length is 7 (seven) pages
(which includes the cover page and the bibliography). If the take-home exam is handwritten,
the maximum length is 9 (nine) pages (which includes the cover page and the bibliography).

10. Whether your answers are typed or handwritten, your submission on the myExams
platform on Moodle must be made in the form of one PDF document. Only the last file
uploaded and submitted will be marked.

10.1 The exam answer file that you submit must not be password protected or uploaded as a
“read only” file.

10.2 Your examination answer file will not be marked if:

10.2.1 you send your examination answer file via email.

10.2.2 you submit the incorrect examination answer file. A mark of 0% will be awarded.
10.2.3 you submit your exam answer file on an unofficial examination.
10.2.4 you submit your examination answer file in the incorrect file format.
10.2.5 you submit a password-protected document.
10.2.6 you submit your examination answer file late
10.2.7 you submit your answer file from a registered student account that is not your own.

10.3 The mark awarded for an illegible examination answer file submission will be your final mark.

4
 You will not be allowed to resubmit after the scheduled closing date and time of the exam.

10.4 Listening to audio (music) and utilising audio-to-text software has been strictly prohibited
during your examination session, unless use of the software is related to a
student’s assistive device which has been declared. Listening to music, utilising such
software and/or failing to declare the software is a transgression of Unisa’s examination rules
and the student's marks will be withheld.

11. If your answers are typed, ensure that the following requirements are adhered to. Items 11.3-
11.6 applies to written assignments as well.

11.1 The text must be typed in Arial font, size 12 with single line spacing within the paragraph,
and double line spacing after the paragraph.

11.2 The text must be justified.

11.3 All of the pages must be numbered in the right-hand corner at the bottom of the page.

11.4 All margins must be 2.5cm, but the left margin must be 3cm.

11.5 South African English and not American English should be used. For example, the correct
spelling is “Labour” and not “Labor”.

11.6 Do not use abbreviations or SMS language.

11.7 All quotes that are two lines long (or less), must form part of the main text, be written in italics,
and be bracketed by quotation marks. Where a quotation is longer than two lines, it must be
typed in a separate paragraph in italics in size 11 font and must be indented by 1 cm. No
quotation marks are required when the quotations stand alone. Use quotations very
sparingly. In this take-home exam, a maximum of 5% of the text may be quoted.

12. When answering the take-home exam questions, remember that an open-book exam is a
test at a higher level than the usual type of exam, where memory is tested as much as insight.
In an open-book exam, you need not memorise any information. You are expected to prove
that you can use information, rather than merely repeat it. In brief, what is being tested is
factual knowledge, understanding and the correct application thereof, not memory skills. For
this reason, you do not earn marks by merely detailing a list of all the information that you
think might be relevant to a particular question. This gives no indication that you know what
statutory or other provisions are applicable in a specific context. You are expected to identify
precisely what information applies, and then explain why you think so.

12.1 Also, because you have the guide available when answering questions, we do not give marks
for direct quotations from the guide. You are therefore assessed on your level of
understanding of the legal principles by looking at how well you applied the principles to the
questions.

12.2 PLEASE DO NOT CUT AND PASTE ANSWERS FROM THE STUDY GUIDE (OR ANY
OTHER SOURCE).

13. The arguments that you make must be logical, well-structured and substantiated by all of the
relevant legal principles. Use the time given wisely.

13.1 Ensure that you give reasons for each answer. Substantiate your answers by referring to
ALL of the relevant authorities, e.g. sections from relevant legislation and/or court cases in
the text or in your footnotes.

13.2 You are required to have read and summarised the prescribed cases yourself. The
summaries in the Study Guide are not sufficient for this exam. When using case law to
support your answer, please include complete references to the relevant cases in your

5
 footnotes. This means that you must not only include the name of the case but also the exact
page and section and/or paragraph where the information can be found. The same applies
to articles and books used.

13.3 A number of students lose marks because they do not approach problem-type questions
correctly. When answering such questions, it is important to first clarify for yourself the area
of work where the answer must be sought. Once you have done this, set out the relevant
legal principles. Deal only with those principles that relate to the given facts. Next, apply
these principles to the facts. This is where most of the students lose marks - they set out the
law in some detail, but then do not illustrate how it applies to the factual situation they have
been asked to solve. Finally, state your conclusion.

14. You must complete the online declaration of own work when submitting.

14.1 By ticking the Honesty Declaration, you confirm that you have read (i) the University’s Policy
on Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism and the Student Disciplinary Code, which are both
available on myUnisa: www.unisa.ac.za/unisarules, and (ii) the information relating to
student values and plagiarism that is found at
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Study-@-Unisa/Student-values-and-rules.

14.2 Students suspected of dishonest conduct during the examinations will be subjected to
disciplinary processes. Students may not communicate with other students, or request
assistance from other students during examinations. Plagiarism is a violation of academic
integrity, and students who do plagiarise or copy verbatim from published work will be in
violation of the Policy on Academic Integrity and the Student Disciplinary Code and may be
referred to disciplinary hearing. Unisa has a zero tolerance for plagiarism and/or any other
forms of academic dishonesty.

14.3 The use of Artificial Intelligence software (ChatGPT, etc) and online sources (Course
Material) during your online examination session is strictly prohibited.

14.4 Unless a student is exempted because of disability or incarceration, students who have not
utilised invigilation or proctoring tools will be deemed to have transgressed Unisa’s
examination rules and will have their marks withheld.

PLEASE NOTE:

If you experience challenges with the Invigilator app, please WhatsApp the technical helpdesk on
073 505 8273. Do not contact the lecturers.

For all other exam-related challenges, you may contact the SCSC on 080 000 1870 or e-mail
[email protected] or refer to Get-Help for the list of additional contact numbers.

QUESTION 1

Discuss the constitutional requirements for just administrative action, and the basic
elements of procedural fairness (found in common law and statute and protected by
the 1996 Constitution) which the school must comply with when a learner is faced with
disciplinary proceedings. Refer to relevant legislation and case law where applicable.
(25)

6
QUESTION 2

Explain the content of the right to basic education (section 29(1) of the Constitution)
and with reference to relevant case law discuss how the court has interpreted this
fundamental right recently. (25)

QUESTION 3

A Grade 10 learner is expelled from school by the school governing body for being
pregnant. As an education law expert and with reference to the 1996 Constitution
and relevant case law, advise the Grade 10 learner and her parents on whether the
actions of the school governing body are legal or not. (25)

QUESTION 4

Study the hypothetical scenario below and answer the question that follows.

Lephalale High School is a multi-cultural public school in the Limpopo

province. During the first school term of 2015 Nadia (a Muslim learner), supported
by both her parents, approached the principal of the school for permission to wear
a hijab (a traditional Muslim headscarf) as an expression of her religion. When no
permission ensued, her religious convictions prompted her, during May 2015, to
attend school wearing the hijab. The principal (Mrs Mismanage) was infuriated
and informed Nadia’s parents that she was acting in conflict with the school’s code
of conduct which did not accommodate the wearing of the hijab. Mrs Mismanage
further stated that because the majority of learners of Lephalale High School are
black, that the only type of traditional item that is accommodated for in the school’s
code of conduct is the wearing of amulets (a bangle made of skins). After
convening a disciplinary hearing (at which Nadia and her parents were present)
and complying with all the rules of administrative justice, Nadia was subsequently
suspended by the governing body.

Nadia and her parents are extremely unhappy with the decision of the school
governing body and approach you for advice in this matter. Write a legal opinion in
which you comprehensively discuss: (1) the various fundamental rights which have
been infringed; (2) at least two relevant cases; and (3) whether the wearing of the hijab
and the provisions of the code of conduct of Lephalale High School are in alignment.

[25]

Total: {100}

UNISA 2023