As the hour approached for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s hyped signing of the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill into law, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced on Friday morning that she would not attend Ramaphosa’s signing ceremony.
The Bill is set to be signed at an event scheduled for 10.30am in Pretoria on Friday, according to an advisory issued by the Presidency.
IOL has previously reported that Ramaphosa is set to sign the controversial BELA Bill into law at the Union Buildings, a move which has upset other parties in the Government of National Unity, particularly the Democratic Alliance (DA) which has threatened to go to court.
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.
On Friday morning, Gwarube, a leading member of the Democratic Alliance, said she remains opposed to the enactment of the Bill.
“I have taken note of President Cyril Ramaphosa's anticipated signing of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill. I have always, and remain opposed to the Bill in its current form and have requested the president to refer it back to Parliament for reconsideration in terms of section 79 of the Constitution. I have also provided inputs on why this should be done,” said Gwarube.
She said she has raised salient issues around the Bill, including the constitutionality of provisions on the implementation of admissions and language policies determined by the governing bodies of public schools, and the need for a phased approach to implementing Grade R as a compulsory and permanent feature of the basic education system, based on the capacity of provincial education departments, public schools, and early childhood development centres to offer access to Grade R to all learners who require it.
“Parliament must be allowed to fix what is currently wrong with the Bill so that millions of learners across the country can access and receive quality education for a better South Africa. In the context of a Government of National Unity, it is essential that compromises reflect the people's will,” she said.
“That is why I have been engaged with the president on this matter. We must consider the objections to the Bill and ensure that it is rectified to avoid protracted and costly legal action. I have thus written to the president and notified him that, in the present circumstance, I cannot attend today's signing ceremony until concerns regarding the Bill are rectified. I remain ready to serve South Africa and ensure that millions of learners across the country can access quality education.”
On Thursday, IOL reported that on the eve of the scheduled signing, EFF national spokesperson, Leigh-Ann Mathys said South Africa needs the BELA Bill.
“The BELA Bill introduces a suite of amendments to address systematic inequalities of basic education in South Africa. The DA is vehemently opposed to the Bill because of its inherent hatred of the African child,” said Mathys.
“We particularly support the fact that heads of departments will now be given the final authority to determine the admission and language policies at schools. The school governing bodies are currently solely responsible for this, and this has enabled them to use this power to exclude African learners and entrench racism at these schools.
“This power has been used as a tool in the hands of white supremacists to isolate African languages, and exclude African children from attending public schools that were formerly exclusively white,” she said.
Additionally, the GOOD party led by Minister Patricia de Lille has also thrown its weight behind the BELA Bill.
“Most of the opposition to the Bill has been caused by the typical mass-hysteria of the DA. This does very little to address the real educational challenges faced by the majority of South Africans,” secretary general of GOOD, Brett Herron told IOL.
“Education is a serious issue and there is no time for political games and disinformation, even more so now that the DA finds themselves in the GNU. Using vague, empty threats of instability in government is childish and reflects very poor leadership by those who are supposed to be working for all South Africans.”
Herron said what the Bill tries to achieve is “largely sensible”, and in line with the Constitution and the judgments of the courts.
IOL