President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed that the government will introduce the norms, standards and regulations of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act.
The President announced the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on Thursday, 6 February 2025 under the theme of “A Nation That Works For All”.
In 2024 following months of dialogue, the Government of National Unity came to a consensus regarding the full implementation of the BELA Act.
The BELA Bill was passed in Parliament on 26 October 2023 and was signed into law by President Ramaphosa on 13 September 2024. During the public signing, the President announced a three-month delay in implementing sections 4 and 5 of the Act, which address school admission and language policies.
During the announcement of the delayed implementation of two clauses of the BELA Act, the President said if the parties could not reach an agreement before the 13 December deadline, the full implementation of the Act would proceed.
During the 2025 SoNA, President Ramaphosa confirmed that the Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube will introduce national policy, norms, standards and regulations of the act. This will empower the implementation of the Act.
This year, the Minister of Basic Education will introduce national policy, norms and standards and regulations to empower all partners in basic education to support the implementation of the Act.
Basic Education Portfolio Committee Chairperson Joy Maimela emphasised the importance of implementing the Act.
The chairperson made her plea while the Department of Basic Education (DBE) was in Parliament briefing the committee on its state of readiness to begin the school year.
Committee member, Mandla Shikwambana questioned whether the delayed implementation of the BELA Bill caused the admissions backlog in South Africa.
Several provincial education departments had not placed all school learners in their respective provinces as the 2025 school year commenced.
Minister Gwarube assured committee members that the BELA Act will be implemented explaining that it is impossible for a Minister not to implement an Act that has been enacted into law.
As we stand, the BELA Act is fully implementable and is being implemented. As a department, we have had workshops with officials to ensure they are abreast with the Act.
Gwarube emphasised the need for guidelines and regulations for principals and teachers to ensure they understand the implications of the legislation.
Committee members expressed concern about dilapidated school infrastructure, particularly in rural provinces, which is not conducive to learning and teaching.
The Minister contended that budget cuts in the sector were largely to blame for declining school infrastructure. Despite progress, the government has missed its deadlines to provide appropriate infrastructure at schools around the country.
We have resolved to raise the fact that the education budget should not be the sole responsibility of the Minister of Finance, but of government as a whole, given its national significance.
She further argued that the impact of budget cuts will have far-reaching consequences for the education sector as schools don’t have the funds required to fill teacher posts saying, "the existing teaching vacancies have not been funded over the decade and that is not the decision of the Minister, but of government".
Gwarube revealed she will be requesting additional funding from the government to avert the cuts to teacher posts. Some provinces anticipated losing thousands of teachers.
