Experts in the education sector are calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to rework the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, Cape {town} Etc reports.
Also read: National Assembly passes new controversial BELA Bill
Dr Corrin Varady, education analyst and CEO of IDEA Digital Education says the Bill could be a game changer but only if it is ‘carefully [re]crafted and implemented’. ‘[The Bill] should be revisited to address concerns raised during extensive public consultations and committee hearings’, he adds.
The BELA Bill was first introduced in January 2022 and passed in Parliament on 16 May 2024 – days before the end of the sixth administration.
Earlier this year, chief director of education management and governance at the Department of Basic Education (DBE), James Ndlebe, said the Bill is aimed at inclusivity, adopted principles such as ‘leave no child behind’ and ‘ensuring access to education for all children’.
The Bill’s 56 provisions range from the inclusion of Grade R as compulsory schooling, to learner attendance, a Code of Conduct for learners, regulating homeschooling, eliminating corporal punishment and initiations, increasing regulation on school governing bodies (SGBs), language and admission policies and criminalising disruptions to schools.
However, its current form has been heavily criticised by experts and the public.
The legislation is like a ‘house of many mansions’ as it attempts to address many issues at once, Varady told BusinessTech.
‘BELA is a prime example of a distraction from our core challenges,’ with ‘very little consideration to outcome-based learning,’ he noted.
‘National and provincial departments are already overburdened, and now struggling schools will have even less autonomy to address their specific issues because the Bill is a ‘one size fits all’ approach to education in the country.
‘The Department of Basic Education, in particular, has a strong track record of developing regulations that often have minimal impact on desired outcomes.’
Varady added that the Bill has not successfully addressed South Africa’s persistent low literacy rates and poor educational outcomes since its introduction in 2022.
‘While the education sector is embroiled in high-level debates, we are failing to develop solutions to critical issues impacting learners’ daily lives, such as improving content mastery and providing adequate revision materials,’ he said.
‘Passing the Bill is a superficial achievement compared to the monumental task of transforming our education system.’
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According to the DBE, the BELA Bill will ‘strengthen governance in schools by addressing stubborn challenges experienced within the sector.’
Ndlebe said the BELA Bill primarily focuses on administrative and management processes at the school level and excludes the curriculum, pass rates, subjects or infrastructure concerns. Rather, it aims to enhance management and governance in schools.
Furthermore, Ndlebe told Parliament that the BELA Bill aims to revise the admission and language policies of schools and transfer decision-making authority from SGBs to the Head of the Department (HOD).
‘This change was prompted by instances of discriminatory admission practices observed in some schools.’
The DBE said the two current policies are ‘politically used to derail access to schools for the majority of learners based on language, race, academic performance, ability to pay fees, and sporting abilities’.
The Bill enables the HOD to intervene in the development of language and admission policy based on area demographics. ‘It cannot be correct that SGBs [who often draft policies] are given unlimited and unchecked powers and have the final say in a school matter, which is a public school,’ Ndlebe added.
‘No grouping can have absolute power and account to no one in a democratic and sovereign state.’
Dr Jaco Deacon, CEO of the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (Fedsas) has slammed Ndlebe’s statement, stating that this is an ‘overreach by the state’.
‘If there is blatant unfair discrimination, the SA Schools Act already gives a remedy where SGB functions can be withdrawn or where there is an appeal process.
‘This will discourage school communities from taking ownership of public schools, taking us back to a state school model where the state will have ultimate control over everything [and we] stepped away from that model in 1994,’ he added.
Varady argues the Bill is rather meant to increase the numbers in classrooms. ‘By merely increasing attendance without addressing the underlying issues will be tantamount to putting more children through a production pipeline of incompetence.’
He added that the former Basic Education minister ‘politicised’ the issue of home language teaching and noted his concerns surrounding the implementation of the Bill.
‘The Bill must not only outline necessary changes but also provide a detailed implementation plan, especially considering the substantial R15 billion budget.’ As reported by BusinessTech, Varady believes ‘careful scrutiny’ should be made clearer for what the R15 billion will be used for, whether programmes or just for the implementation.
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Also read:
Department of Basic Education to add new subject in SA schools
Picture: ER Lombard / Gallo Images
