The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education Portfolio Committee on Basic Education will move to the next step of processing the controversial Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill this week, starting the provincial public consultation process over the proposed laws.
The BELA Bill aims to make a host of changes to schools in South Africa, including controversial proposals such as giving the government the final say over language policies at schools, as well as allowing schools to sell alcohol at after-hours, non-school related activities.
The laws propose big changes to the compulsory starting age for children in South Africa while clarifying and formalising aspects of home education and financial administration of schools in the country.
Some of the 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.
- 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.
- Allowing schools to sell alcohol outside of school hours.
- Giving government department heads power over language policies and the curriculums a school must adopt.
The proposed laws faced major backlash during consultations with stakeholders in the latter months of 2022, when various organisations, unions, political parties and industry groups made presentations to the portfolio committee.
Certain aspects of the proposed laws were broadly supported, including the compulsory grade-R, abolishing corporal punishment and merging schools where the appropriate conditions were met.
However, many aspects of the laws were outright rejected. This includes giving heads of department control over admissions and critical decisions for the school, as well as giving the government control over schools’ language policies.
Groups were also outraged at the proposal to allow the sale of alcohol at after-hours events hosted by schools – while there are major questions hanging around the regulation of home schooling in the country.
Big changes for schools in South Africa – these are the laws being accepted and rejected
What was clear from the feedback from stakeholders is that the proposed laws need a lot of work, and that many need to be taken back to the drawing board or dropped altogether.
The prevailing theme of the feedback was that the laws appear to be the government’s attempt to centralise control of education, while schools and parents believe the direction of a child’s education rests with parents and the communities they are in.
The public at large will now have an opportunity to have their say in the proposed laws.
Provincial public hearings on the laws will commence on Friday afternoon, 24 February 2023, starting in Limpopo. Hearings are expected to continue to the North-West Province and Gauteng in March 2023.
The committee said it has elected to hold hearings on weekends and afternoons, keeping in mind work and family responsibilities stakeholders, in order to provide as many South Africans with an opportunity to participate in crafting the legislation.
The provincial public hearings are part of the public participation process, which will then lead to a draft report and debate in the portfolio committee, after which amendments will be made, as necessary.
Read: Storm brewing over big language changes for schools in South Africa
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