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PHUTI MOSOMANE
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), AfriForum, Centre for Child Law, and the SA Institute of Race Relations will be making oral submissions on the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill in Parliament on Tuesday.
The Bill proposes to amend the South African Schools Act of 1996 and the Employment of Educators Act of 1998, so as to align them with developments in the education landscape and to ensure that systems of learning are put in place in a manner that gives effect to the right to basic education enshrined in section 29(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
Among others, the Bill seeks to amend certain definitions to provide that attendance of Grade R is compulsory, and to provide for system improvements in terms of admission of learners to public schools.
It also provides for financial and public accountability frameworks for governing bodies and provincial departments.
The Bill further provides for additional regulatory powers of the Minister, and enhancing decision making and oversight powers of Heads of Departments and Members of the Executive Councils.
The hearings are hybrid and can be followed on Parliament platforms.
Other entities expected to make presentations at the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on Tuesday include the Federation of Associations of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS), South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), Section 27, and Cause for Justice.
Last week, Equal Education and the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC), along with other stakeholders, made oral submissions to Parliament’s Education Portfolio Committee.
The bill clarifies the powers of SGBs and provincial education departments, and says SGBs must be consulted before learners are put in school, but also that the government must ensure transformation, efficient and equitable use of limited state resources.
Generally, the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill makes important changes to key education laws, some are steps in the right direction and some changes are extremely concerning, the Committee heard last week.
Criminalisation is overly harsh and punitive, and it is not in the best interest of children to be left without their caregivers. Equal Education and the Equal Education Law Centre recommended that the government remove all sections of BELA proposing the criminalisation of parents.
Amendments introduce criminal sanctions for caregivers and parents. According to Equal Education, this will not tackle the underlying problems and will mostly impact women, who are often primary caregivers in SA.
According to the bill, certain documents are “required” for admission into school, but there are concerns about learners without any documents who equally have a right to be in school.
In its current form, the bill will allow selling and drinking of alcohol at schools but not during school hours. Although this will be regulated, both Equal Education and other organisations are deeply concerned this will harm learners and that it will not be properly implemented and monitored.
“This must be removed entirely, ” Parliamentary Researcher for Equal Education Jane Borman said.
On the positive side, the amendment provides an opportunity to open up more spaces in schools in overcrowded areas, Borman said they were in support of this.
“We can safeguard mother tongue instruction & ensure the effective & equitable management of resources in the education sector. The amendment provides an opportunity to open up more spaces in schools in overcrowded areas,” Borman added.
BELA bill forces provincial education departments to review school language policies, and consider factors like the needs of the surrounding community. Equal Education believes this is a step toward ensuring language policies are not used as a proxy for racist and exclusionary practices.
It will be interesting to hear what the Institute of Race Relations, and AfriForum say on this matter.
Inside Education will update you on the development in Parliament on Tuesday. Follow us on Twitter @Inside_Edu