The Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, commonly referred to as the Bela Bill, has been making waves for a while in the South African Education system, with much debate taking place.
What Is The BELA Bill?
The BELA bill was first drafted in 2017, and the current version came to Parliament last year. The aim is to make changes to the South African Schools Act of 1996 and the Employment of Educators Act of 1998.
Some of the new laws proposed are as follows:
- Grade R will be the new compulsory school starting age (age 5 turning 6), as opposed to Grade 1 (age 6 turning 7).
- Parents who do not ensure their child or children are in school, will begin receiving fines or jail time up to 12 months and making it a crime.
- Parents and learners will need to supply specified documentation when applying for school admission.
- School Governing Bodies (SGBs) will be held more accountable for disclosures of financial interests – including those related to their spouses and family members. The role of SGBs will be smaller and provincial heads of Education Departments will have the role of making a final decision on a school's language and admissions policy.
- Educators will be prohibited from conducting business with the State or being a director of public or private companies conducting business with the State
- Corporal punishment and initiation/hazing practices will also be abolished.
- Alcohol consumption will be allowed on school premises at after-hour events.
- Homeschooling will also be impacted.
The Bill and its amendments have been the centre of much debate, but plans were in place for it to be adopted within the country's Education system. However, in a Parliamentary meeting held on 16 August 2023, Opposition Parties left the meeting.
Therefore, since not enough members were present for a quorum, a vote didn't take place and the meeting was adjourned, putting the Bill on hold for now.
Why the Opposition Parties left the meeting
DA's Baxolile Nodada, says the BELA Bill is a "dangerous bill that has been put on our table in Parliament", and "seeks to take away School Governing Body powers and give it to the hands of the State."
Nodada explains that taking away SGB power also takes away power from communities and parents who know what is best for their children, and "invades homeschooling". He adds that the Bill is not addressing real issues that are present in the Education system, such as children falling into pit toilets, overcrowded classrooms, and poor quality teaching, amongst others.
It was very important to us to make sure that in today's Portfolio Committee meeting, the Portfolio actually adopts a report that is reflective of all the views of South Africans.
When the BELA Bill was first in the beginning stages, it was made public for South Africans to comment and express their opinions on the laws proposed, which were then taken into consideration as the Bill progressed. But, Nodada says a significant number of responses were left out.
It [the Bill] only analysed about 26 000 submissions, and left out about 9500 submissions from the public. Our job and our duty is to be representative of the people, and when we consider the views of the people, we must consider all of them.
And that is precisely why today, we thought we need to raise these issues; we had also requested that the National Treasury come present to us, because the Bill says it wants to make Grade R compulsory.
So, Treasury needs to tell us if there's money to make that happen, so that we don't find our little children in overcrowded classrooms without a teacher in front of them, or without a meal in school, without budgeting for it."
Those who support the Bill believe that requiring a quarterly reporting period would put an early stop to the issue of financial mismanagement and guarantee that school funds are handled properly. Additionally, they said that this quarterly reporting cycle would give communities knowledge about the financial administration of schools, which would lessen instances of corruption and the waste of limited resources.
The DA has previously called on the Northern Cape to reject the Bill, citing that the proposed laws would endanger mother tongue education and enforce homeschooling regulations without proper prior engagement with the Basic Education Sector.
What are the disagreements surrounding the Bela Bill?
Parliament introduced the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, which includes laws that civil society groups find controversial, and desire to seek clarity on to ensure that rights are not infringed upon.
The initial reaction was the assumption that the Bill will use up the power that School Governing Bodies (SGBs) hold. In reality, the BELA Bill provides SGBs with the ability to draft their own Code of Conduct.
Section 27 Attorney Zeenat Sujee stated that the Code of Conduct needs to follow the criteria listed below:
- Be in the best interest of learners.
- Be mindful and respectful of religious and cultural practices.
- Take into account learners’ medical conditions.
- Should be non-discriminatory toward pregnant learners.
The one of the most prominent objections to the Bill came from the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), who associated the Bill with the encouragement of abortions among school learners.
DBE Spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, has previously clarified a few misconceptions surrounding the BELA Bill, and has stated that it's not really about the power of the SGB's being taken away or about alcohol being brought onto school premises (a law is being proposed which allows alcohol to be on school property, but only for the purpose of fund-raising); instead, it's a lot more than that.
It's important that we broaden our minds, we broaden our thinking, we take a much wider view in terms of what the Minister [of Basic Education] is intending to achieve with these laws.
A member of the ACDP, who also happens to be a member of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, published posters labelling the BELA bill 'The Schools Abortion Bill'. The poster is also in opposition to the closure and merger of non-viable schools.
In response, Mhlanga stated that this is unfounded as abortions are a matter of Public Health and do not form part of the BELA Bill.
There's no need to be upset about something that is not there because the BELA bill doesn't talk about abortion, it focuses only on matters around governance in schools.
Professor Mary Metcalfe from the University of Johannesburg (UJ), says that the controversy surrounding the Bela Bill, especially when it comes to the law of compulsory education in Grade 1, is strange as it has been in existence since the beginning.
Compulsory education, in my mind, is a pact between government and the community; society in general, to say that its important that our children go to school, and compulsory education - that's across many countries in the world its part of the sustainable development goals, and in Africa in particular.
Metcalfe adds that compulsory education has been present in South Africa's law, since the passing of the South African Schools Act in 1996; therefore it has "always been the responsibility of the parents to make sure their children go to school, and it's the responsibility of the State to make sure they provide places for children to go to school."
The consequence of parents not sending their children to school in the form fines or even possible jail time has also been there from the beginning, says Metcalfe.
The Equal Education Law Centre recommended the removal of the criminalisation of parents, and called for the provision of less punitive consequences for failing to allow their children to attend school, adding that parents should first be consulted about why their child has missed their classes.
The Department of Basic Education has allowed responses from the public as well, including individuals, organizations and the rest of the general public to disclose their viewpoint to these proposed changes.
