This article examines access to the right to basic education enshrined in the South African Constitution. Underpinned by the human rights-based approach, the study employed survey questionnaires and in-depth interviews as methods of data collection. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the survey respondents contend that the post-apartheid state has fulfilled the right to basic education only to a small extent notwithstanding the existence of pre-schools, primary, and secondary schools located within a reasonable walking distance from the communities. Preference for the three classes was not equally distributed in the population, X2 (2, N= 500) = 99.68, p < 0.05. On the contrary, the majority of government participants interviewed rated the post-apartheid state fulfillment of the right to basic education in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality as fair. Overall, all the government participants had a moderate view regarding the fulfillment of the right.

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