The Department of Basic Education on Thursday welcomed a Constitutional Court ruling dealing with the powers of a school governing body.

"The Constitutional Court significantly has recognised that the power of a school governing body to determine the language policy of a public school cannot be done in isolation of the community in which that school is located," the department said in a statement.

"The court observed that the governing body of a public school is entrusted with a public resource which must be managed not only in the interest of [its] learners, but also in the interest of the broader community in which the school is located and informed by the principles and values of our Constitution."

The Department said it accepted the ruling which also required it to report back to the court by November 16 on measures it would take to prevent overpopulation in schools.

The Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that the Mpumalanga Education Department acted unlawfully when it forced the Afrikaans Hoërskool Ermelo to become a parallel medium school.

However, the Constitutional Court ordered the school to review its language policy within the context of the basic human rights enshrined in the Constitution.