Ramaphosa to sign BELA Bill, but political parties is calling for a halt on it

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Friday sign the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill into law, which aims to strengthen governance within South Africa's education sector.

COURTESY: X - @PresidencyZA

The President will publicly sign the Bill during a ceremony to be held at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

“The BELA Bill amends sections of the South African Schools Act of 1996 (SASA) and the Employment of Educators Act, 1998 (EEA) to account for developments in the education landscape since the enactment of the original legislation. The amendments are a response to court judgments that protect and give effect to the Bill of Rights,” the Presidency said in a statement.

The Bill seeks, among other things, to make Grade R the new compulsory school starting age, to provide penalties for parents and guardians who do not ensure that their children are in school, and to confirm that corporal punishment is no longer allowed in schools, with penalties for those found guilty of such offences.

But poltical parties have threatened legal actuion should the bill be signed into law.

DA leader John Steenhuisen warned that the future of the Government of National Unity (GNU) may be in jeopardy, should Ramaphosa proceed.

‘’During the negotiations, the DA made it clear that the BELA Bill was unacceptable to us in its current form, because it has constitutional implications for the right to mother-tongue education, amongst other issues. The DA urged President Ramaphosa to send the Bill back to Parliament for a few simple amendments to bring it in line with the Constitution.’’

‘’Despite this, and in violation of the provisions of the Statement of Intent, the President seems intent on pushing ahead unilaterally. I have moved urgently to meet the President before Friday to re-iterate our objections in the strongest terms. I will also submit to him the simple amendments the DA requires, and urge him to use his powers to send the Bill back to Parliament,’’ added Steenhuisen.

ActionSA expressed disappointment but says the signing of the bill does not comes as a surprise

‘’If, indeed, the DA was in an equal partnership in the Grand Coalition, this proposed signing of the BELA Bill ought to have been halted. However, President Ramaphosa seems determined to run roughshod over the Minister of Basic Education, who is opposed to the Bill,’’ said Lerato Ngobeni, ActionSA Parliamentary Caucus Chief Whip.

‘’In service to learners, ActionSA will consider its options to repudiate the signing of this Bill. While the BELA Bill’s stated intentions may be admirable, the Bill amounts to a power grab by the Basic Education Minister who will be enabled to set a school’s language policy regardless of what a School Governing Body (SGB) decides, and limits parents’ ability to decide whether to home-school their children. Furthermore, the Bill proposes the welcomed inclusion of mandatory Grade R for all pupils, but without a clear understanding of the curriculum framework, affordability raises concerns,’’ she added.

The Freedom Front Plus wants the Bill to head back to Parliament for debate.

‘’The law is ill-conceived and will cause needless uncertainty and disputes about clearly established rights and responsibilities related to Basic Education. The Bill was hastily steamrollered through the parliamentary process just before the general elections. The fact that the Bill makes no mention of electronic education systems whatsoever makes it outdated before it has been promulgated,’’ said Dr Wynand Boshoff.

‘’The FF Plus is using its position in the Government of National Unity (GNU) to apply the pressure needed to persuade the President to refer the ill-conceived Bill back to Parliament for the necessary amendments and improvements,’’ he added.

 

Done By: Mitchum George