Right to education affected by protest action: SAHRC

The commission launched the report on Thursday following hearings held in June after more than 20 schools were set alight in Vuwani, Limpopo.

The commission is concerned that some protests appear to specifically target schools and educational institutions.

The hearings found that some learners suffer indirect consequences from protest action - including being prevented from accessing school feeding programs for meals on which they depend.

Parents, fearful of the safety of their children, keep their children from school in affected areas.

The report also found that the response from the Department of Basic Education and the police were in some cases slow. 

There is also no uniform policy or approach to deal with such incidents.

The commission's Judith Cohen said recommendations have been made, including the formation of a national task team led by the Basic Education Department.

"The other two role players, who are extremely important to have on board and to have their cooperation and for them to take ownership of this cooperation, would be the South African Police Services and Local Government and Traditional Affairs. The first thing is to sit around the table and go through each stakeholder and determine what are their roles and responsibilities," she said.

Commission has given the department until June 2017 to report back on the progress in implementing recommendations.