Gwarube will now implement contentious Bela Act
Amid consultation on two clauses of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube confirmed that it was her constitutional duty to ensure laws passed by Parliament were implemented.
Gwarube made the statement when she was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Delmaine Christians, who asked whether she made any representations to President Cyril Ramaphosa to request that he returns the new law to the National Assembly for further consideration.
Last month, Ramaphosa signed the bill into law at the Union Buildings, but decided to delay the implementation of its two clauses dealing with admission and language pending consultations over three months.
In a written reply, Gwarube’s office said she had engaged Ramaphosa regarding concerns within the Bela Bill and possible solutions for addressing those concerns before the bill was signed into law.
“These concerns included implementing Grade R as a compulsory part of basic education, various aspects of school governing body policies, and centralised procurement,” the response from Gwarube’s office read.
“Since then, the President has elected to set a pathway for addressing some of the concerns within the Act by delaying the commencement of the provisions relating to language and admission policies of public schools for three months.
“This period is intended to allow interested parties the opportunity to find consensus on these provisions; this should be allowed to happen.”
But, Gwarube said it was her constitutional duty to ensure that the laws passed by Parliament and signed into law by the President were implemented.
“Given that the Bela is now law, the Minister must ensure that the Bela Act is properly implemented in the best interests of learners. The Minister will work with her department to ensure that it takes the necessary steps to introduce appropriate regulations, norms, standards, and national policies that will strengthen the ability of our basic education system to implement our country's basic education laws and ultimately serve the best interests of learners.”
Gwarube’s response comes as the debate continues over the new legislation after protesters mobilised on Monday against the Bela Act.
However, the ANC study group on basic education described the march as being misguided. “The notion that the Act infringes on being taught in one’s mother tongue language is disinformation. The Bela Act instead encourages schools to accommodate more languages,” a statement by the ANC study group on basic education read.
The ANC maintained that school governing bodies will maintain authority over language and administrative policies, subject to the head of department’s approval aligned with the Constitution. “The ANC Study Group on Basic Education urges the President to promulgate the commencement of all sections of the Bela Act with immediate effect.”
DA national spokesperson Willie Aucamp said Ramaphosa must stand firm on his commitment when he assured stakeholders of a process of consultation to resolve the contentious clauses and demonstrate that it was not a hollow gesture.
“Calls from the ANC to push through the Bela Act without further consultation are divisive and contradict the ANC’s own commitment to the Government of National Unity,” he said.
Aucamp also said the Bela Act will do nothing to address the real crisis facing education, which is the abysmal quality of the majority of schools.
Solidarity Movement called on Ramaphosa to intervene so that talks about Bela can continue.
Cape Times