Over the weekend the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill public participation hearings were held in the Northern Cape.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) called on all parents, teachers, school governing body (SGB) members and community members and education stakeholders to raise their concerns and objections at these hearings.
The political party wants the Northern Cape province to follow the Western Cape in rejecting the BELA Bill as they believe it will take away power from schools and SGBs to determine admission and language policies.
The DA says that the BELA Bill will endanger mother tongue education and enforce homeschooling regulations without proper prior engagement with the sector.
The party states that its concerning that the ANC government is determined to push the BELA Bill despite receiving objections and given the challenges which are affecting the quality of education in the country.
They state that only one in five grade 4 learners can read for meaning in any language and the Western Cape, which is run by the DA, is the only province with a budgeted reading and catch-up programme.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Commitee, Bongiwe Mbonqo-Gigaba said that people who were in favour of the bill during the hearings in KwaZulu-Natal said it would limit the power of SGBs to abuse their powers and continue the exclusion of certain learners as they say there is a legacy of exclusion and segregation within the education system which remains a factor.
Those in opposition of the BELA bill have argued that it may take away the parents' right to decide what is best for their children. They believe that the community, through SGBs, should determine admission and language policy because it understands the issues that are specific to the community.
The DA has reached out to communities in the Northern Cape to oppose the BELA Bill which they describe as "draconian and unconstitutional".
