“We will be writing to President Cyril Ramaphosa on section 79 to refer the Bill back to parliament and failure to do so, will lead to legal action.” That is what the Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Minister of Basic Education, Baxolile Nodada said after the passing of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, known as the BELA Bill, in the National Assembly on Thursday, 16 May 2024.
On the same day that the BELA Bill was passed, a meeting between Solidarity, AfriForum and the Solidarity Support Centre for Schools (SCS) took place. These organisations will be joining forces to legally fight the Bill
“The government is going to realise that it has underestimated the value of education for the Afrikaans community. We are now seeing the dawn of a tragic new era. This is capturing of schools. The new amended BELA Bill leaves no doubt that the head of the Department of Basic Education has the final authority of language and admission,” Dr Dirk Hermann, Chief Executive of Solidarity said.
Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s Head of Cultural Affairs, also emphasised that they remain committed to their intention to oppose the BELA Bill nationally and, if necessary, also internationally with legal action as long as it poses a threat to the continued existence of Afrikaans schools and quality education.
There were 223 members of parliament from various political parties who voted in favour of the Bill, while 78 members voted against it when it was passed. The next step is for the President to sign it into law.
“The DA remains steadfast in opposing the Bill, committed to fighting it every step of the way – from parliamentary chambers to president’s offices,” Nodada reiterated.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has emphasised across its messaging and position on this matter that the Bill, at its core, reflects South Africa’s aspiration for a more inclusive, equitable and efficient education system and that it addresses challenges that have hindered progress in the ecosystem of education for years.
The DA believes that the government did not listen to and address the concerns of the public, whom they believe had rejected the Bill. They say that a caring government would have amended the deeply problematic clauses that continues to disempower schools and communities and stomps on the rights of parents.
Some of the strategic focuses of the Bill include making Grade R compulsory, provide financial and public accountability frameworks for governing bodies and provincial departments, serve to capture the essence of court judgements in order to ensure that it gives effect to the Bill of Rights, particularly the right to procedurally fair administrative action.
Katherine Sutherland, a Legal Researcher from education advocacy organisation, Equal Education, says their biggest concern is in the criminalization of parents who aren’t able to take their children to school.
“We were hoping the government would move away from the criminalizing truancy and instead, play a more wholistic, supportive role that looks into providing better solutions,” she said.
Others, like Hendrick Makaneta, an education activist who is the Deputy Chairperson of the Foundation for Education and Social Justice, says the passing of the BELA bill is a great step towards fixing some of the outstanding issues in the terrain of Basic Education.
“For the first, Grade R will be compulsory and there will be consequences for parents who keep children of school going age at home. It is also a good thing that power will be shifted to the head of department in instances where the school governing bodies are indecisive,” he said.
The DBE says that the current version of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill has been shaped by extensive consultations over several years and aims to realise Basic Education 2.0. In its development phase, the Bill saw the submission of almost 5,000 comments from the public, alongside 144 petitions with a collective weight of 195,695 names. Such engagement underscores the deep-rooted public interest and commitment to refining the basic education system.
It said that from February 2018 to February 2020, a task team convened for 31 meetings over 57 days in which in-depth dialogues, often supplemented by discussions with other department officials to gain clarity on issues raised by commentators, were held.
“Much has been written about this Bill, and much has been said about it, most of which are lies. I appeal to the detractors of public schooling and this government to desist from spreading fear and lies in the public discourse to advance sectoral interests,” Minister Angie Motshekga said.