From prefect system to Student Representative Councils via Representative Councils of Learners in South African schools: Which representative government is considered the best?

Abstract

In the history of South Africa there have been three conflicting traditions to represent learners in school
governance structures: rule by prefects; rule by Student Representative Councils (SRCs); and rule by
Representative Councils of Learners (RCLs). I use Pitkin’s (1967) views on representation and Aristotle’s
(ca.350 BCE/1943) ideal types of government to map out a conceptual geography of learner governments in
South African schools. The problem is that the national Department of Education (1999) policy Guides for
Representative Councils of Learners set the outer limits of what counts as representation for the benefit of all
learners in South African schools. I assert that a prototype polity, which means rule or government by citizen as
a fusion of RCLs and SRCs that lean towards SRCs is the best form of government for schools in South Africa.
In the end, I advocate for a prototypical polity-government that expresses and secures the good of every learner
as a viable government in post-apartheid South African schools.