South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act No. 84 of 1996)Chapter 3 : Public Schools12A. Merger of public schools |
| 1) | Subject to subsection (2), the Member of the Executive Council may, by notice in the Provincial Gazette, merge two or more public schools into a single school. |
| 2) | Before merging two or more public schools the Member of the Executive Council must – |
| a) | give written notice to the schools in question of the intention to merge them; |
| b) | publish a notice giving the reasons for the proposed merger in one or more newspapers circulating in the area where the schools in question are situated; |
| c) | give the governing bodies of the schools in question and any other interested persons an opportunity to make representations within a period of not less than 90 days from the date of the notice referred to in paragraph (b); |
| d) | consider such representations; and |
| e) | be satisfied that the employers of staff at the public schools have complied with their obligations in terms of the applicable labour law |
| 3) | If one or more of the schools that are to be merged in terms of subsection (1) are public schools on private property, the Member of the Executive Council must also – |
| a) | notify the owner of the private property of his or her intention to merge the schools in question; |
| b) | consider his or her contractual obligations in terms of the agreement contemplated in section 14; |
| c) | renegotiate his or her obligations in terms of the existing agreement if necessary: and |
| d) | negotiate a new agreement in terms of section 14 if the single school contemplated in subsection (1) is to be situated on private property. |
| 4) | The single school contemplated in subsection (1) must be regarded as a public school. |
| 5) | All assets, liabilities, rights and obligations of the schools that are merged, must, subject to the conditions of any donation, bequest or trust contemplated in section 37(4), vest in the single school. |
| 6) |
| a) | The governing bodies of the schools that are merged must have a meeting before the merger to constitute a single interim governing body comprising of all the members of the governing bodies concerned. |
| b) | The interim governing body must decide on the budget and differences in codes of conduct and school fees, as well as any issue that is relevant to the merger or which is prescribed, until a new governing body is constituted in terms of sections 23 and 28. |
| 7) | The governing body of a public school to be merged, may appeal to the Minister against the decision as contemplated in subsection (1). |