Government will have the final say on language and admission policies for schools in South Africa
The portfolio committee on basic education has clarified confusion around the latest proposed amendments to the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (BELA Bill).
The confusion was specifically around clauses 4 and 5 of the bill, which relate to the admission and language policies of schools, and the proposal to give provincial heads of department (HODs) the final say on these policies, not leaving it up to school governing bodies (SGBs) to decide.
The proposal has been highly controversial, with fierce debate around the centralisation of power within government and arguments that the changes would be taking away the rights of SGBs to ultimately determine the best policies for the local communities they serve.
However, parliament’s legal advisors gave the changes the all-clear, saying they are in line with the country’s Constitution and serve the common good.
Confusion over the clauses arose after BusinessTech reported on an apparent move against pushing the changes through, emanating from stakeholder feedback, recommendations made to the committee and responses from the Department of Basic Education itself.
This was contained in accompanying documentation – specifically the matrix of feedback and recommendations on various clauses to the bill – where it was recommended that the BELA bill drop these clauses.
In addition to this, feedback from the Department of Education also indicated that they would be dropped.
However, the bill is with the parliamentary committee to be processed, and the committee ultimately elected to keep these clauses in.
Chairperson of the committee, Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba, said that the majority of members of the committee agreed that the much-debated clause regarding language policy – that the governing body must submit the language policy of a public school and any amendment thereof to the Heads of Departments for approval – should remain.
“The language policy must also take into consideration the language needs of the broader community,” she said.
The same stands for the admissions policy, she said.
Binqo-Gigaba confirmed that the committee adopted the proposed amendment that the Heads of Departments, after consultation with the governing body of the school, has the final authority to admit a learner to a public school.
“The committee was clear in its resolution that the final decision on both of the above will be with the Heads of Departments. Any statement contrary to this, does an injustice to the work of the committee and the process that was followed in reaching the resolutions and is completely misleading,” said Mbinqo-Gigaba.
The adoption of the A-list of amendments brings the bill a step closer to being enacted.
Some of the other proposals that were adopted include making Grade R the new compulsory school-starting age, penalties for parents who do not ensure their children are in school and confirmation that corporal punishment is no longer allowed at schools with penalties for those found guilty of such offences.
The proposed amendment regarding the sale of alcohol on school premises after hours during functions, was not supported by the committee. The proposed amendment dealing with members of a governing body that must disclose on an annual basis their financial interests and the financial interests of their spouses, partners and immediate family members also not supported and was deemed too onerous a task.
Mbinqo-Gigaba said the proposed amendments are to align the legislation 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 as enshrined in section 29(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
“In some instances all the members of the committee agreed that certain proposed amendments did not belong to the Bill and ensured that they were removed, whereas in other instances the committee vigorously debated clauses and retained them. This is all to ensure that we better the education landscape of the next generation.
“The committee held extensive public hearings in all provinces, oral submissions were heard in Parliament from stakeholders and thousands of written submissions were considered when debating and drafting this piece of legislation.”
The committee is expected to meet next week to adopt the final Bill before it is referred to the National Assembly for debate and consideration.
The proposed amendments approved by the committee can be found below:
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