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- Regulating various aspects of school governing bodies and administration;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Making Grade R the new compulsory school-starting age;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Criminalising parents who do not ensure their children are in school;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Regulating home education;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Confirming the ban on corporal punishment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Backlash<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While some provisions have been widely welcomed\u2014including expanding the definition of corporal punishment to protect children and criminalising some parental conduct\u2014there are various parts of the Bill which still have many up in arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are particularly to do with clauses 4 and 5, which the President reopened for consultation among parties for a limited time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interestingly, while it is tradition for a minister to attend the signing of a law that affects their portfolio, the Minister of Basic Education, the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) Siviwe Gwarube, decided to not attend the signing ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/siviwe-gwarube-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nGwarube is not convinced that the Bill is comprehensive in its current form and has requested the president to send it back to Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cParliament must be allowed to fix what is currently wrong with the Bill so that millions of learners across the country can access and receive quality education for a better South Africa,\u201d stated Gwarube hours before the signing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gwarube\u2019s key objections relate to admissions and language policies, as well as grade R becoming the compulsory school-starting age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have thus written to the president and notified him that, in the present circumstance, I cannot attend today\u2019s signing ceremony until concerns regarding the Bill are rectified,\u201d the minister confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ramaphosa said in his speech that “extensive consultation” was done and if there were unconstitutional aspects of the laws, then the Constitutional Court will shut it down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The signing ceremony comes just days after the DA – the second-largest party in the Government of National Unity (GNU) – had its leader John Steenhuisen rock the GNU boat by saying that the president\u2019s intention to sign the BELA Bill into law on Friday would put the entire GNU at risk.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the President continues to ride rough-shod over these objections, he is endangering the future of the Government of National Unity, and destroying the good faith on which it was based,\u201d said Steenhuisen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DA have long been fierce opponents of the bill\u2014particularly provisions that give the ultimate power to approve admission and language policies of schools in South Africa to the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After meeting with Ramaphosa on Wednesday evening, the DA leader repeated that the DA would have to \u201cconsider its options\u201d should the signing of the bill proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the President goes ahead…, the DA will have to consider all of our options on the way forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn a multi-party government, leaders need to respect the constraints and imperatives of their partners. Any leader who tries to ride roughshod over their partners will pay the price\u2014because a time will come when the shoe is on the other foot, and they will need the understanding of those same partners in turn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Freedom Front Plus, also part of the GNU, have also voiced their concerns over the Bill. “The law is ill-conceived and will cause needless uncertainty and disputes about clearly established rights and responsibilities related to Basic Education,” said Dr Wynand Boshoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The FF Plus is using its position in the Government of National Unity (GNU) to apply the pressure needed to persuade the President to refer the ill-conceived Bill back to Parliament for the necessary amendments and improvements,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the Bill is said to shake the GNU, parties say that it does not mean the end of it and Ramaphosa welcomed these parties to work towards solutions of their concerns within 3 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile I do not wish to comment directly on the Bela Bill, I wish to express that what is happening will affect the GNU… But it will not end it [GNU],\u201d said DA Federal Chairperson Helen Zille.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Impending legal action<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Theuns Eloff, the chairperson of the Trust for Afrikaans Education (Trust vir Afrikaans Onderwys) told Daily Maverick<\/a> that they will take the Bill to court as soon as Ramaphosa put pen to paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum said that it will proceed with legal steps, arguing that “the Bill will enable the destruction of a linguistic and cultural community\u2019s schools, thereby jeopardising the group\u2019s cultural existence.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The full Act can be found below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Confirming the ban on corporal punishment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Regulating home education;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Criminalising parents who do not ensure their children are in school;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Making Grade R the new compulsory school-starting age;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/siviwe-gwarube-e1721195028893.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n