Which committees must a School Governing Body establish?

Under national law (SASA section 30), committees are largely permissive — the only committee the Act itself compels is a Special Education Needs committee, where the school serves learners with special needs. Provincial regulations can add mandatory committees: in the Western Cape, for example, a finance committee and a disposal committee are both required. So the answer depends on your province and school profile, not a single national checklist.

Is a finance committee compulsory for an SGB?

Nationally, a finance committee is near-universal practice rather than a requirement named by SASA section 30. But some provinces make it mandatory — Western Cape regulations state a governing body must establish a finance committee (and a disposal committee). Whether it is legally compulsory therefore depends on your province.

Can a non-SGB member or outside expert chair a committee?

No. Every SGB committee must be chaired by a voting member of the governing body, without exception. An outside expert may be co-opted onto a committee for their skills and, in many provinces, may propose, second and vote — but may not chair. This is the most commonly broken committee rule.

What is a Special Education Needs (SEN) committee and when is it required?

A SEN committee oversees provision, support and inclusion for learners with special education needs at governance level. It is the one committee the South African Schools Act itself makes mandatory — required for any school that provides education to learners with special education needs. Like all committees, it must be chaired by a governing-body member.

Can an SGB committee make binding decisions, or only recommend?

Most committees recommend to the full governing body, which keeps ultimate accountability. Finance and disposal committees may decide within the limits set by the approved constitution and finance policy, but major resolutions — adopting a policy, approving the budget, recommending an expulsion — remain decisions of the full SGB. A committee executes a mandate and reports back.

Which Committees Must an SGB Have?

It is one of the most common governance questions, and most answers online get it wrong by handing you a tidy list of "required" committees. The truth is more useful — and it turns on two layers of law: what the national Schools Act requires, and what your province adds on top.

Get this right and you will know which committees your school must establish, which it may establish if it chooses, who may serve on them, and — the part almost everyone misses — who is allowed to chair them.

The Short Answer: Most Committees Are Optional

Under the South African Schools Act, a governing body may establish committees to help it do its work, including an executive committee. The word is may, not must. At the national level, committees are a tool the SGB can choose to use, not a checklist it must complete.

There is one national exception (a Special Education Needs committee, below), and there are provincial rules that can turn "may" into "must" for your school. But the starting point is important: a finance or disciplinary committee is near-universal practice, not, by itself, a national statutory requirement. Schools that treat every committee as compulsory often create structures they cannot properly staff — and miss the one committee that actually is required.

The One Rule That Never Bends: Who May Chair

If you remember only one thing from this page, make it this:

Every SGB committee, without exception, must be chaired by a voting member of the governing body.

You may co-opt an outside expert onto a committee for their skills — an accountant onto the finance committee, for instance — and in many provinces they may propose, second, and even vote. But a co-opted non-member may not chair. The accountant advises; a governing-body member holds the chair and the accountability.

This is the single most-broken committee rule in the country. Schools routinely (and unlawfully) let an outside expert run the committee. Don't.

What National Law Requires (SASA s30)

At the national level, section 30 of SASA gives the permissive power to establish committees and sets the chairing rule above. The only committee the Act itself compels is a Special Education Needs (SEN) committee, and only where the school provides education to learners with special education needs.

Everything else — finance, discipline, executive, fundraising — sits under the permissive power nationally. That does not make them unimportant; it means their compulsion, where it exists, comes from provincial regulation or from the underlying duty they help discharge, not from section 30 naming them.

What Your Province May Add (Western Cape Example)

Provinces can, and do, turn permissive committees into mandatory ones. The Western Cape is the clearest example, and a useful illustration of how much the answer can change by province:

Finance committee — mandatory. Western Cape regulations state a governing body must establish a finance committee. What is merely good practice nationally is a firm legal requirement here.
Disposal committee — mandatory. The same regulation requires a disposal committee (to oversee the disposal of school assets). It is the least-known mandatory obligation in the province — most SGBs have never constituted one.
Disciplinary committee — mandatory to use. For serious-misconduct hearings, a properly constituted committee (or the full SGB) must preside. No compliant committee means no lawful serious-misconduct discipline.

The lesson is not "every school needs these three." It is that your province determines your list — so the honest answer to "which committees must we have?" is: the SEN committee where relevant nationally, plus whatever your provincial regulations mandate.

The Committees Explained

The committees a school actually runs, with their usual status:

Special Education Needs (SEN) — nationally mandatory where the school serves learners with special needs. Oversees provision and inclusion at governance level.
Finance — near-universal, and mandatory in provinces like the Western Cape. Handles budgeting and financial oversight; typically chaired by the treasurer.
Disposal — mandatory in the Western Cape; oversees the disposal of school assets.
Disciplinary — used for learner serious-misconduct hearings under the Code of Conduct and provincial discipline regulations; chaired by an SGB member who is not a staff member.
Executive — where established, handles urgent business between full meetings and reports back; often required to meet regularly.
Fundraising / tuck-shop — a common informal example under the permissive power; still needs a governing-body member as chair.

A crucial governance point: most committees recommend to the full governing body, which retains ultimate accountability. Finance and disposal committees may decide within the limits set by the approved constitution and finance policy, but the big resolutions — adopting a policy, approving the budget, recommending an expulsion — remain decisions of the full SGB. A committee executes a mandate and reports back; it does not replace the governing body.

Which Committees Apply To Your School

Because the answer depends on your province, your school type, and whether you serve learners with special needs, a generic list only gets you so far. This is exactly what Quorum's Committee Guide resolves: it reads your school's profile and shows precisely which committees are mandatory, conditional, or recommended for you — who may serve, who must chair, what each may decide, and the rule each one rests on.

This is educational content, grounded in the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 (section 30) and provincial regulations, with the Western Cape used as a worked example — not legal advice. Provincial rules vary; confirm the mandates that apply in your province.