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By Johnathan Paoli
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube is adamant that the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act must not be turned into a political tool for sowing divisions on the language of instruction at schools.
Responding to reactions in the wake of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s declaration on the immediate implementation of the Act, Gwarube said the law must not be used to undermine any language that was selected for teaching and learning.
“I will not tolerate any weaponising of this legislation for political means. The future of this country and our learners depends on us doing our work,” she said.
Briefing the media in Cape Town on Saturday, the minister stressed her leadership in establishing the guidelines, norms and standards, and regulations needed to implement the law.
Gwarube said that it was important to note that the timelines would be set by her.
“I want to make it abundantly clear that this Act will be implemented, and its implementation will be led by me,” she said.
The minister said that the implementation would be done in a manner that protected the rights of all children and schools from victimisation in any form, and at all times.
She has instructed her team to immediately develop guidelines that would be sent to all public schools and provincial education departments by the end of January, in order to support school governing bodies and the departments in implementing certain sections of the Act.
Meanwhile, the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union has welcomed the announcement of the full implementation of the Act.
Sadtu, which is South Africa’s biggest teacher union, praised the legislation as it ensured the educational needs of all learners and empowered provincial education departments to determine school language and admission policies.
“Our voices have finally been heard. We are happy that the attempts of right-wing formations to manipulate the law for the benefit of a select few were unsuccessful,” the union stated.
However, the Afrikaans-aligned Solidarity Movement, which has been an ardent critic of the law, specifically sections 4 and 5 that deal with language and admission policies at schools, has waned it is ready for legal action.
Spokesperson Werner Human said the movement would thoroughly evaluate the final proclamation and asses the constitutional validity of the legislation.
He said the movement stood ready to act if there was any attempt to force schools to implement sections 4 and 5 at this stage.
“The Solidarity Movement, including Solidarity, AfriForum and the Solidarity School Support Centre, will challenge any form of intimidation against schools in court and reserves their right to challenge the proclamation in court, depending on how it is published in the Government Gazette,” Human said.
The minister will have to facilitate practical solutions to effectively implement the legislation, as signed by the Ramaphosa and agreed to by the clearing house mechanism of the Government of National Unity.
INSIDE EDUCATION