The Gauteng department of education's instruction to the Overvaal high school to admit 55 extra Grade Eight pupils has been set aside by the High Court in Pretoria.

The Afrikaans medium school in Vereeniging approached the court to review and set aside the department’s instruction that the school admit the pupils‚ despite the school’s insistence that it had no capacity to do so.

During argument last week‚ Advocate Albert Lamey‚ who represents the school and its governing body‚ said the department’s instruction — without any consideration for the school’s language and capacity — was unlawful and unfair.

He argued that when the district education director instructed the principal of the school to admit the learners‚ the department had trumped Overvaal’s language policy.