# Public School Partnerships (South Africa) This note refers to the broader public-private partnership framework developed in South Africa to support non-state operation of public schools, under provincial oversight and public funding. The initiative is coordinated by the [DG Murray Trust](https://dgmt.co.za/project/public-school-partnerships/) and implemented under different names in various provinces. In the Western Cape, it is known as the *Collaboration Schools Pilot Project*; in the Eastern Cape, as *Partnership Schools*. As of 2024, the project included 279 teachers across 16 schools managed by four nonprofit School Operating Partners (SOPs), serving more than 7,000 learners. The model retains public ownership of schools and state funding, while delegating operational responsibility to SOPs under performance agreements. **Official website**: [https://publicschoolpartnerships.co.za/](https://publicschoolpartnerships.co.za/) --- ## Entries ### Collaboration Schools Pilot Project (Western Cape) **Description**: Launched in 2015 by the Western Cape Department of Education (WCED), the Collaboration Schools Pilot Project formalized a public-private partnership model in which selected underperforming public schools were transferred to nonprofit operators. These operators, selected through a due diligence process, are responsible for day-to-day school management, including staff hiring and financial oversight. Schools remain public and free of charge. The provincial government retains ownership and oversight, and SOPs operate under performance contracts. **People**: Debbie Schäfer (MEC for Education, 2009–2022) **Website**: [Case study](https://globalschoolsforum.org/sites/default/files/2024-08/western_cape_collaboration_schools_south_africa_casestudy.pdf) ### Model C Schools (historical reference) **Description**: The Model C school model was introduced in South Africa during the late apartheid period as part of the "decentralization" of school governance. The term “Model C” is often evoked in post-apartheid policy debates and public memory to describe semi-private governance arrangements in education. - _"Under Model A, the school would become fully private; under Model B it would remain a state school; and under Model C the school would become state-aided (or semi-private), with its management council responsible for the running of the school, appointment of staff, determination of fees and maintenance of facilities. Model C schools would receive a state subsidy to cover salaries of staff appointed within state-prescribed norms (usually amounting to about 80% of the operating expenses of school and the management council would be responsible for raising the remaining funds). School buildings and grounds would be legally transferred to the management council free of charge, with a reversionary clause should the school cease to operate (Christie 1995, 49). Schools would need to remain majority white (50% + 1) and to give preference to white children from their feeder areas."_ - **Reference**: [Christie, P., & McKinney, C. (2017)](https://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1947-94172017000300002). *Decoloniality and 'Model C' Schools: Ethos, Language and the Protests of 2016.*