Abstract
Implementing decentralised school governance and promoting multiculturalism through “transformative constitutionalism” should ensure that everyone has access to basic education. Section 29(2) of the Constitution guarantees the right to receive basic education in one's preferred language if reasonably practicable. The research focuses on the language policies of public schools in South Africa, particularly on applying the “reasonable practicability” test under section 29(2) of the Constitution. The cases litigated under 29(2) all involved Afrikaans-medium schools, which raises questions about the effects of racial integration of schools, the democratisation and transformation of the education system, and the status of Afrikaans as a language of instruction in Afrikaans-medium schools. The significance of mother-tongue education is often overlooked in discussions about transformative constitutionalism and the democratisation and transformation of the education system. The adoption of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act 32 of 2024 aims to centralise basic education and ensure greater state control over school language policy, which will have significant implications for the roles and responsibilities of school governing bodies.