Court decides for PMB separated couple's child

AN emotional dispute between a separated couple over their child’s schooling ended when a high court intervened as upper guardian of the child.

The mother of the seven-year-old boy, who cannot be named, brought an urgent application in the Pietermaritzburg high court on Monday to demand that the biological father sign and present all necessary documents to enroll the child in a certain primary school within 24 hours.

In her affidavit, the boy’s mother alleged that the child was unhappy in the school he had been attending, as he was being bullied.

However, when she succeeded in getting a place for her son in the school of her choice, the biological father refused to sign the necessary documents, saying he was not consulted.

The high court granted the mother’s interim application on Monday and ordered the father to sign the documents to enroll their son in the school. 

Attorney Siva Chetty, who represented the mother in the case said the parents could continue their legal tussle if they decided to do so but in the meantime, the child could settle into his new school.

According to the mother’s affidavit, she and the boy’s father got married in 2008 and separated in 2015.

The boy lives with the mother but the father has frequent access to him.

The case will return to court on March 28.