The Impact of Litigation by the Legal Resources Centre for Adequate Classroom Infrastructure in South Africa

Abstract

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) is a South African nonprofit human rights organization that conducts public interest litigation. In response to the South African government’s delays to remove mud schools in the Eastern Cape Province, LRC took the government to court in August 2010. As a result of the mounting legal pressures, in January 2011 the Eastern Cape Department of Education signed an agreement with LRC. According to the agreement, the national government would introduce a new three-year grant to address infrastructure backlogs, of which Eastern Cape would receive 78 percent of the total. In the interim, the provincial education department would provide temporary structures and furniture for the seven schools that joined the court case. Progress in implementing these agreements has been slow, but the LRC continues to apply pressure and monitor progress.