South Africa's Ramaphosa to Sign Controversial Education Bill

The recent announcement by South African President Ramaphosa of his intent to sign the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill into law has stirred up a wave of backlash from political parties which form part of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and civil society organizations such as ActionSA and AfriForum.

The recent announcement by South African President Ramaphosa of his intent to sign the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill into law has stirred up a wave of backlash from political parties which form part of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and civil society organizations such as ActionSA and AfriForum.

In a nation where 80 percent of public schools are deemed as dysfunctional and 8 out of 10 schoolchildren struggle to read for meaning by age 10, the Bill seeks to implement a range of amendments to both the 1996 South African Schools Act (SASA) and the Educators Employment Act of 1998, some of which the Democratic Alliance (DA)–a GNU partner party–have labelled unconstitutional. Likewise, ActionSA claims the proposed Bill's policy of a mandatory Grade R (which forms part of early childhood development) and it's intention to remove the right of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) to decide the language policy of their respective schools have created a "fatally flawed" piece of legislation which will only "serve to compound the challenges [already existing in the education system]."

So, What Does the Bill Propose?

1. Reaffirms the ban on corporal punishment in schools

- Fines or imprisonment for those found to be administering corporal punishment

2. Religious expression affirmed in school codes of conduct

- Proposes that school codes of conduct respect cultural and religious beliefs

3. Home schooling

- Enables the head of department to visit sites where home schooling takes place, the Minister of Basic Education gains the ability to regulate the administration and registration of home schooling sites

4. Compulsory Grade R

- The compulsory Grade R would extend to 7,888 schools

5. The criminalization of parental negligence in school attendance

- Parents who fail to ensure their children attend school may face jail time. Those charged with disrupting school activities face a maximum of 12 months in prison

6. Language policy

- Mandates school governing bodies to submit their language policies for approval. The policies must consider the community's linguistic needs.

Why is There Opposition to the Bill?

Various civil society groups, political parties and teachers contend that the proposed Bill undermines the school governing bodies authority, with the DA stating the Bill is unacceptable in its current form due to it's "constitutional implications for the right to mother-tongue education, amongst other issues," continuing, "If the President continues to ride rough-shod over these objections, he is endangering the future of the Government of National Unity, and destroying the good faith on which it is based."

According to the African National Congress (ANC), which President Ramaphosa leads, current language policies in the nation lead to the exclusion of children from certain schools, which has been 'used as a proxy for race.'

13.5 percent of South Africa's population are Afrikaans speakers–an approximate 6.8 million people–with civil rights group AfriForum claiming the Bill threatens the existence of Afrikaans schools.

With 11 national languages, South Africa continues to exist as a 'rainbow nation,' as 23 percent of the country's citizens are speakers of Zulu, followed by 16 percent Xhosa, 13 percent Afrikaans, and 9.6 percent English speakers.

Among other contentions, ActionSA denounced the "blanket lifting of the ban on the sale of alcohol at schools proposed in the Bela Bill. And while we welcome the expansion of penalties imposed on people who disrupt schools, we must ensure that the bill sufficiently protects the right to peaceful protest."

Additionally, in a nation where 40 percent of Grade 1 learners drop out, ActionSA has called for a full costing of the mandatory Grade R policy, as the curriculum framework for the proposed grade is yet to be released, which raises affordability concerns for the civil society group.

Another contentious issue is found at clause 39, which an unnamed homeschool educator stated deals with learner pregnancy.

The country's Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, claimed in April this year that South Africa continues to show the highest rate of teenage pregnancy globally, with nearly one in four girls falling pregnant before the age of 20 years. In the 2022-2023 financial year, an estimated 150,000 girls between the age of 10 and 19 years old had fallen pregnant, according to the Minister.

So, What Now?

In an online statement released by the Office of the Presidency yesterday, it was announced that President Ramaphosa will sign the BELA Bill into law on Friday the 13th, with "aims to strengthen governance within South Africa's education sector." However, the backlash the Bill has garnered from educators, citizens, civil society groups, and political parties, signals a growing rift between the centralized government and the people.

Currently, there are an estimated 3,900 pit toilets in South African schools, which young children frequently fall into, resulting in a death by drowning and/or suffocation.

Thus, the BELA Bill is seen by many commentators and political actors in the country as a 'bandaid over a bullet wound.' An attempt to rectify many non-issues, while keeping mum on the worst issues facing the country's education sector.