Dressed in their blue political party regalia and holding placards in the air, the DA was picketing outside the Gauteng Education offices.
The DA alleges that Lesufi is using the Basic Education Law Amendment (BELA) Bill as a weapon to disempower school governing bodies and destroy mother tongue education.
“We are here to stop the capture of the schools in our country,” said Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs, Cilliers Brink.
Lesufi argued that this Bill intends to promote and defend all languages in schools. According to Gauteng Education, the Bela Bill is a national policy, and not exclusive to Gauteng.
In a statement, Lesufi explained:
All nine provinces sanctioned the amendments proposed by the BELA Bill and they were tabled in Parliament. As such, we find it odd that this progressive Bill would be termed as ‘Lesufi Bill’.
It has been reported that the Basic Education Portfolio Committee has given the public an opportunity to make written submissions on the Bill, with the deadline being extended to 15 August 2022.
Should any person or organisation wish to submit written comments, they may direct their submission using the following channels:
- Via email to the Committee Secretary, Llewellyn Brown: [email protected]
- Online at https://forms.gle/MoC6AdbdQyYPk3Y49
- WhatsApp: +27 60 550 9848.
Because the process of passing this draft Bill is in parliament, the Gauteng Department of Education has said all concerned parties who want to avoid the process of submitting written comments on the Bill, must raise their concerns directly with Parliament.
