President Cyril Ramaphosa has been under severe pressure to sign the BELA Bill into law, following its adoption in parliament. However, the President has developed cold feet into signing the bill, especially since Madam Hellen Zille has her eyeglasses slowly below the eyes watching Ramaphosa closely.
The DA is opposed to this bill and the Madam has previously called it a red line that should not be crossed in their Government of National Unity.
What is a BELA Bill you may ask?
The Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill aims to amend key education laws, including the South African Schools Act (SASA) of 1996 and the Educators Employment Act of 1998. Here are the proposed amendments:
- Compulsory Grade R: The BELA Bill seeks to make Grade R compulsory, expanding it to 7,888 schools. As part of early childhood development (ECD), Grade R would become the mandatory start of formal schooling.
- Criminalizing Parental Negligence: Parents failing to ensure their children attend school could face jail time. The bill also penalizes anyone disrupting school activities.
- Home Education Regulation: The amendment allows the Department of Basic Education to regulate home education, acknowledging parents’ preference for homeschooling.
- Language Policy in Schools: School governing bodies must submit language policies for approval, considering the linguistic needs of the community.
- Accommodating Religion: The bill requires school codes of conduct to respect cultural and religious beliefs, allowing students to seek exemptions.
- Ban on Corporal Punishment: The bill reaffirms the prohibition of corporal punishment in schools12.
Critics argue that the BELA Bill centralizes decision-making power, potentially disempowering school governing bodies. The proposal to make Grade R compulsory has drawn both support and opposition, with concerns about its implementation cost.
Why is the DA against this bill?
The DA’s priority concerns are for mainly white communities that have decided to pull their children out of the public schooling system into the private or homeschooling system. This is to protect their children against the mess happening in public schools. In the Private schooling system, the governing body makes the rules; however, with the introduction of the BELA Bill, that power will be taken away from the governing bodies, subjecting the Private schools back to the morally bankrupt government laws.
The ANC and its partners are pushing hard for the BELA bill to be signed and the Madam is having none of it! The President’s ear is always tilted towards the DA making this an appetising series to watch.
The Government of National Unity may be facing its first biggest challenge with this bill, in isiZulu we say “iyabhubhudla inkezo, qhude manikiniki zindala zombili, kazi iyozala nkomoni?”