The EELC is committed to building a society in which the quality of education received by learners is not dependent on their socio-economic status and their parents’ ability to pay school fees. Its overriding goal is to ensure the realisation of every learner’s right to an equitable, safe and adequate basic education by employing the law and the Constitution.

A vital part of the EELC’s core mission is “movement lawyering”, which entails a unique relationship with Equal Education (EE), a membership-based movement of learners (called Ëqualisers”) struggling for quality and equal education in South Africa. EE has provided a voice for learners, parents and communities to influence the changing landscape of South African education through grassroots leadership development, community building, media campaigns, policy analysis and contributions to parliamentary debates. The EELC provides legal advice and support to EE and Equalisers on a day-to-day basis, and utilises a variety of legal tools to advance EE’s campaigns.