Basic education deputy minister Reginah Mhaule says the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act is a cornerstone to equitable, inclusive and transformative education system in the country.
Speaking during a panel discussion by the ANC-aligned Progressive Business Forum (PBF) and Progressive Citizens Forum (PCF), held at Unisa in Pretoria on Thursday, Mhaule said the Bela Act was focused on addressing contemporary challenges in the SA Schools Act.
President Cyril Ramaphosa signed Bela into law in December, despite protestations from some civil society organisations unhappy with the admissions and language policies in schools.
Mhaule said the legislation removed barriers for admissions to schools based on race, among other criteria.
“Bela prioritises learner retention mechanisms and upholds stability in the schooling environment … serving all learners in our country,” she said, adding that there were still some schools that remained divided along racial, ethnic and linguistic lines. The legislation sought to address this, she said.
“The Bela act dismantles barriers to access public, independent or home-based schools. It calls for equitable education for all. Transformation is challenging, but its success is vital in building an inclusive and transformative SA,” she said.
Mhaule said the act embodied the next phase in the transformation of the education sector in the country. “It confronts inequalities undermining democratic values upon which SA was founded.”
Basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube, during a debate on the state of the nation address (Sona) on Tuesday, said: “I will not tolerate the politicisation of this act in a way that affects our children and distracts them from teaching and learning.
“As indicated by the president in the Sona, we are finalising regulations that will go out for public comment and input,” Gwarube said then. “Ultimately, these guidelines and regulations must be implemented in a manner that protects the learner, that protects the teacher and that protects our schools.”
Gregory Masondo, a former school principal and chief negotiator at the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA (Naptosa), said: “The Bela Act is law, it’s not something we can debate whether we accept or not accept. It’s a law we must implement.”
Speakers spoke of the need to use the piece of legislation to transform a sector where inequality had been allowed to persist for far too long. The act in itself was not an attack on school autonomy but was introducing “long overdue reforms”.
ANC treasurer-general Gwen Ramokgopa, chair of both the PBF and PCF, said: “The future education system should prioritise access to technology, problem solving skills, updated curriculum, and ensuring students have equitable access to quality education.”
"This requires teacher training, curriculum reform to equip students for the evolving job markets and [meeting the] economic needs of our country and this continent.”
The Bela legislation would help assist the government to have a “futuristic point of view” as far as educational transformation was concerned. “How do we help young people to mitigate against teenage pregnancy, drugs, violence? ... I’m glad the minister is moving with speed to implement the act. No one child, regardless of background, should be left behind. Let’s not delay the future of our children,” Ramokgopa said.
“Our society feels that the government is receding away from them and that it doesn't understand them or their aspirations. South Africans are saying you politicians are playing politics, you have forgotten what 1994 was all about. That’s why some of us are interested in the discourse in society.”
In January, trade union Solidarity and Afrikaner rights group AfriForum sent letters of demand to Ramaphosa and Gwarube, challenging their promulgation of the Bela Act late last year.
They gave the president and minister 10 days to explain their action, failing which they would ask the court to review and set aside the promulgation of the act.
The legislation elicited heated debate when it was before parliament, particularly by opposition parties and interest groups opposed to its provisions on school admission and language policies.
The act reduces the power of school governing bodies by giving provincial education departments the final say on admission and language policies, a move Solidarity and AfriForum consider a politically motivated attack on Afrikaans as a medium of instruction.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.