1. School governing bodies (SGBs) are democratically elected bodies, consisting of parents of learners, the school principal, educators, non- educator staff, learners in Grade 8 and higher, and co-opted members.

2. Their purpose is to ensure that schools are run in an effective, efficient and cooperative manner so as to provide good education.

3. SGBs need to perform all their functions and carry out their responsibilities in terms of Section 20 – and in some cases also Section 21 – of the South African Schools Act (SASA), 1996 (Act 84 of 1996). In order to do so, they need to evaluate their progress regularly.

4. The attached SGB Support Tool has been designed to provide SGBs with guidance in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities in supporting education in their schools. The tool focuses on the following areas:

  • Policies legislated by the SASA
  • Policies implied by the SASA
  • Meetings of the SGB and its committees
  • Maintenance and procurement of school assets
  • Financial planning and management
  • Training and information sharing
  • Planning
5. Please bring the content of this circular and the attached SGB support tool to the attention of all teaching staff, members of the school governing body and parents.


SIGNED: PA VINJEVOLD
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2012:08:24

South African Schools Act, 1996  (size: 86 KB)
School governing body (SGB) support tool  (size: 81 KB)