Excerpt:

Ensuring equity of provision

1.15. In order to ensure equity of provision and to aid the setting of priorities, the national policy provides for minimum and optimum norms and standards. It also presents a gradation of provision which will be used as benchmarks for adequacy of provision further down the line during the planning stage for the intended levels of provision. According to this gradation, schools will be classified as meeting norms and standards for safety, functionality, and effectiveness. During strategic planning, the DoE will determine a target date by which schools will meet each level of provision with an ultimate aim of having ALL schools reach an effective physical teaching and learning environment by 2030, or within 20 years of the first year of implementing the norms (2010). Because this is the level where we aim for all schools to reach, this document mainly details the norms and standards for an effective environment. Schools that do not meet safety norms will not be tolerated and will be closed with immediate effect. Safety norms and standards are therefore regarded as emergency norms and all effort will be made to not have any school at this level beyond the current sector strategy plan period (2012). The aim will be to have all schools meet functionality norms and standards as soon as possible (within the first 10 years of implementing these norms or by 2020).