By Charmaine Ndlela
The country’s 14th National Schools Moot Court competition opened this week at the University of Pretoria with preliminary oral rounds underway ahead of the grand finale on October 12 at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg.
The final round will be presided over by judges from the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal, the High Court, as well as senior magistrates and legal practitioners.
The programme is a joint initiative of the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, guided by the South African Human Rights Commission and supported by the University of Pretoria.
Launched by the university a decade ago, the competition aims to promote constitutional literacy and encourage young South Africans to engage with issues of justice and human rights.
Professor Tshepo Madlingozi shared a message of support for the contestants at the oral rounds, telling them: “We are here to empower you to be legal warriors. You will come out of this process with advocacy and research skills.”
The programme is primarily for Grade 10 and 11 students from all provinces.
Participants gain essential skills in public speaking, research, writing, legal reasoning and case analysis.
The learners are allowed to argue their case in any of the 11 official languages in the oral rounds before judges in an actual court scenario.
The 2025 moot aims to focus on the constitutionality of school language admission policies, particularly those prescribing a single language of instruction.
INSIDE EDUCATION
