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This morning President Ramaphosa signed the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (“BELA Bill”) into law. Now known as the BELA Act, this law impacts on the powers of school governing bodies (“SGBs”) - which are mostly made up of parents – with regard to language and admissions policies.

SGBs however should know that provincial heads of education have not been granted unlimited power. According to FEDSAS, there are several requirements that must be met before departments can change school policies. The FW de Klerk Foundation also shares FEDSAS appeal to the Minister of Basic Education to prioritise BELA training for officials to prevent abuse of power.

A big concern for the Foundation is the fact that the new law also criminalises parents (with up to 12 months imprisonment) should they fail to enrol their child from Grade R (section 3(6) of the Act).

“The Foundation is concerned that the BELA Act goes against grass roots democracy by centralising powers away from parents and schools’ local communities. It is also concerned that criminalising parents is the wrong solution, one which will disproportionately impact socio-economically vulnerable families,” says Daniela Ellerbeck, the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Constitutional Programmes Manager.

The Act was subject to much opposition – both from the public and from within the Government of National Unity. As a result, President Ramaphosa said he will delay the implementation of clauses 4 and 5 of the Bill (now sections 5 and 6 of the Act) for three months as parties cooperate to find alternative solutions. These sections affect admission policy and language policy. Should no alternative solutions be found, these sections of the BELA Act will be implemented. Whether it will address the quality of education remains to be seen.

Issued by FW de Klerk Foundation