The government of national unity (GNU) clearing house, which aims to resolve policy disagreements within the 10-member coalition government, has established a separate multiparty team to deal with divisions over the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act.
The task team comprises ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli, deputy minister of justice Andries Nel, Cornelius Mulder of Freedom Front Plus (FF+), Brett Herron from GOOD and DA federal council chair Helen Zille. The team has been tasked to report to the clearing house, which is headed by deputy president Paul Mashatile, within two weeks from Wednesday.
The Bela Act has been a cause of contention between the ANC and DA, the two largest parties within the GNU. The legislation, which is due to be implemented in 2025, stipulates that provincial education department heads will have the final say on schools’ admission and language policies rather than their governing bodies.
The legislation, which was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa in September, seeks to address cases of pupils being denied admission to schools because of those schools’ language policies; cases of children not being allowed back to school or to sit exams because their school fees hadn't been paid; and disparities in norms and standards, governance and access to resources.
The team is expected to resolve a dispute over clause 4 and 5 of the legislation, which gives more authority to school governing bodies over language policies, and for the provincial education department heads to control admission policies.
The clearing house mechanism held its third meeting on Wednesday, to deal with the Bela Act.
“The meeting also agreed on the need to put party-political interests aside and find a solution to benefit all South Africans,” Mashatile’s office said in a statement.
“The meeting noted the need to resolve the matter within the three months that President Cyril Ramaphosa has allocated,” the statement adds.
“After an extensive engagement, the clearing house mechanism agreed on the establishment of a small team to work on the concerns as raised by some parties.”
The DA has previously said it had instructed its lawyers to keep preparing for court action on both the process leading up to the signing of the Bela Act and its substance on constitutional grounds. However, Business Day understands the party has decided to hold off on legal action until all dispute mechanisms within the clearing house have been exhausted.
Members of the GNU have already clashed over National Health Insurance, which Ramaphosa signed into law in May. Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi doubled down on the scheme in July, saying he was determined to push ahead with it despite legal challenges and opposition by political parties.
The GNU was formed after the May 29 elections in which the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time. The GNU comprises the ANC, DA, Patriotic Alliance (PA), IFP, GOOD, the PAC, FF+, UDM, Al Jama-ah and Rise Mzansi.
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