The community and the school governing body's relationship in two Bushbuckridge schools

M.Ed.The South African Schools Act of 1996 mandated the creation of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) in all public schools. This significant development, although welcomed and accepted by all stakeholders in education, seems to be failing because serious efforts are not made, and plans are not in place to sustain it. This study is undertaken with the aim of looking at the workings of two SGBs in the rural areas of Bushbuckridge. Particular attention is given to how they interpret the Schools Act and how they interact with school management and other stakeholders as they go about their work. The qualitative research paradigm is employed in this study and the two data collection methods used are interview and participant observation. The findings of the inquiry reveal that SGBs in rural areas are not functioning well, as they have not been adequately inducted to do the job. In addition, because most of the members are not properly educated and the written materials on their modus operandi are in either English or Afrikaans, they are unable to read and interpret these documents without assistance. The study recommends that rural communities should be properly educated on the importance and relevance of SGBs before members are elected so that competent people would be elected. Furthermore, the elected SGB members should be adequately work-shopped before they officially start their work