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‘Everyone is equal before the law’ and may not be unfairly discriminated against on the basis
of ‘race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, language and birth’.
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Section 9 of the Constitution states unequivocally that ‘everyone is equal before the law’ and may not be unfairly discriminated against on the basis of ‘race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, language and birth’. The implications of this clause are spelled out in the South African Schools Act 84 (1996), which states that ‘all children must obtain  equal education, and the state must strive towards giving all students the same access to resources and to personnel, and the same opportunities to realise their fullest potential’.
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Equality should underpin the relationships in schools. Just as the state has an obligation not to unfairly discriminate against any of its citizens, so the school has an obligation to protect everyone against any form of unfair discrimination. Understanding the value of equality and the practice of non-discrimination means understanding that not only you have these rights, as an educator or as a learner, but that others have them as well. The implied consequences of the equality clause are that it promotes values such as tolerance and respect for diversity (Department of Education 2001:14).
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Well-planned cooperative learning activities can ensure that all learners get equal opportunities at taking the lead or developing specific other skills, such as presenting the task to the rest of the class, interviewing other parties or summarising all inputs made by group members.
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The educator should manage processes and activities carefully to ensure that all learners understand fully what is expected of them, including those learners who use an additional language as their language of learning and teaching. This may even mean that the educator may have to switch over to their mother tongue to explain activities to them. By doing this, the educator will make sure that there is no unfair discrimination against these learners; they will better understand what is expected of them in cooperative learning groups and will be able to earn the respect of their peers, as they will be able to contribute more when they understand the activities better (Kitshoff, 2006:20).
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