The Democratic Alliance (DA) will forge ahead with its plans to take court action on matters surrounding the controversial BELA Bill, which President Cyril Ramaphosa signed on Friday, Cape {town} Etc reports.
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While the DA acknowledged that Ramaphosa gave political parties three months to suggest alternatives to two sections of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, the party rejected the president’s ‘threat’ of proceeding should an agreement not be reached.
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Sections 4 and 5 of the Bill have drawn a slew of controversy. During a briefing held by the Department of Base Education (DBE) in April, an Afriforum representative of 315 000 contributing individuals expressed strong opposition to the sections, highlighting concerns about proposed amendments.
She also voices objections to the increase in state power and the proposal to grant provincial heads of education the final say over school language policies.
‘We have seen cases of learners being denied admissions to schools because of their language policies,’ Ramaphosa said during the signing.
‘The Bill is part of the state’s ongoing efforts to build an education system that is more effective and more equitable.’
The topic of Afrikaans medium schools, which constitute less than 5% of the country’s schools, has also been a contentious issue. ‘Their existence in no way contributes to the crisis in education, and turning them into dual-medium or English-medium schools will not help improve the quality of education for South Africa’s learners,’ the DA said in a statement.
‘If the President is serious about seeking a solution that will protect the constitutional right to mother tongue education, we welcome his announcement of a 3-month delay in the implementation of Clauses 4 and 5 of the Bill,’ it added.
‘If this is just a delaying tactic to defuse opposition before implementing the clauses at a later point, then we will continue to fight this Bill with everything we have got, including in the courts.’
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Picture: Frennie Shivambu / Gallo Images
