Anger over proposed new laws for home school in South Africa
The highly divisive Basic Educational Laws Amendment Bill (BELA) has come under further scrutiny following public consultations in Gauteng.
The BELA bill aims to make significant changes to schools across the country with some controversial provisions reducing the power of school governing bodies, giving the government the final say on language policies and forcing homeschooled learners to be registered.
According to Parliament, public consultation over the new Bill this past weekend (7 May) in Johannesburg led to the majority of participants rejecting the Bill, primarily on the basis of clause 37 of BELA, which proposes a process for the registration of homeschooled learners.
Some respondents to the consultation called for a complete scrapping of the clause and consultation with relevant stakeholders to address the demands of the homeschooling sector.
“Participants who have opted for homeschooling highlighted that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) didn’t consult those within the environment enough and that little research was done before the Bill was drafted,” said Parliament.
“They also argued that requirements proposed by the Bill, including the arrangement of an independent assessor, were meant to increase the cost of homeschooling, thereby discouraging parents from choosing this option.”
Further concern around the Bill related to the argument that imposing an application process for homeschooling took away the rights of parents to make decisions for their children.
Participants highlighted concerns that the Bill does not take into consideration the unique needs of individual learners and that it seeks to impose a Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement on the people undermining their choice of different curriculums.
Parliament said that there was further contention on clause 41, which was rejected by the participants. This was due to the view that under clause 41, the minister was granted wide powers to make regulations regarding the management of learner pregnancy.
“They argued that these unknown regulations, according to them, will remove the right of parents to make decisions about their children and place those rights in the hands of the state, a state which they do not trust.”
“They called for the DBE to publish the regulations to enable parents to make informed decisions.”
The only positive feedback to the Bill reported on by Parliament was support for clause 2(c) of the Bill, which criminalises any person who unlawfully and intentionally interrupts, disturbs or hinders school activity – making it a punishable criminal offence.
Participants also welcomed the proposal for the declaration of financial interest by School Governing Body (SGB) members to be required – to promote accountability and transparency. Praise for this provision was followed by calls for the legislation governing SGBs to be strengthened as they are unable to interpret legislation or financial reports, undermining governance.
The BELA bill has been involved in an intense back and forth since November last year when the portfolio committee on basic education first started oral submissions on the changes to school regulations.
Civil society organisation Afriforum has chimed in on the Bill that it is best to scrap it entirely and revise existing legislation from scratch.
The group said that most of the proposed changes are ideological in approach, unconstitutional and outdated in terms of modern schooling in South Africa.
Certain provisions, including granting the government control over language policies and allowing schools to sell alcohol during non-school-related activities after hours, are some of the most highly contentious provisions challenged by Afriforum.
Other key amendments that the Bill aims to make include:
- Making grade R the new compulsory school starting age, as opposed to grade 1, as is currently the case.
- Forcing homeschooled learners to be registered for this type of schooling
- Criminalising parents who do not ensure their child or children are in school, with fines or jail time up to 12 months.
- Requiring parents and learners to supply specified documentation when applying.
- Holding school governing bodies more accountable for disclosures of financial interests – including those related to their spouses and family members.
- Prohibiting educators from conducting business with the state or being a director of public or private companies conducting business with the state.
- Abolishing corporal punishment and initiation/hazing practices.
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