Sub-themes for the conference included human rights in education, legislation and policies, school safety in a democracy, the rights of educators, school finances and school governance and legal remedies to improve education.

This year’s conference was attended by a record number of delegates, among them four members of the Department of Education Management and Policy Studies (EMPS). Proff Johan Beckmann and H-P Füssel, the latter a visitor from Humboldt University in Germany, read a paper titled “The legal status of educators in South Africa and Germany: an exploratory comparison”, while Prof Rika Joubert’s paper was titled “Search and seizure of learners in schools in a constitutional democracy”. Other presenters from the department included Dr. Sakkie Prinsloo and Mr. Jean van Rooyen, who read a paper with his son, an attorney at law. The title of their paper was “Infringements of children’s rights by state structures and government officials”.