What you need to know about the BELA Bill

Today, Friday, 5 May, parliament’s public hearings on the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (BELA Bill) resume in Gauteng. The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education in the National Assembly has five provinces left to visit. Gauteng, KZN, Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape.

This proposed Bill is the first major revision of the post-Apartheid education landscape and will likely shape that landscape for the next 10 to 15 years, if you have a child in school or who will be starting school in that period the BELA Bill will impact you.

At the heart of the controversy about the Bill is the reshaping of the role of the School Governing Body. In the last years of the apartheid regime, and into the first years post-1994, the School Governing Body went from a group of people raising money through cake sales for the Girls U-12 hockey team to a company-like board of directors charged with running almost every aspect of the school. The BELA Bill now seeks to limit some of those powers especially in the setting of the language and admission policies of the school.

Hearings have become increasing contentious with a group of SGB associations and their supporters including the DA and some teacher unions fighting to keep the powers of the SGBs intact. While the ANC backed by SADTU want the Members of the Executive Council for education in the provinces to have the final say over language and admission policy.

The one thing both sides concur on is that this is a reshaping of the educational dispensation that was agreed to post-1994 and this is why everyone with a stake in the education system should be informed about the Bill and be involved in the process.

Another reason to be involved is that the passage of the Bill is by no means certain. When parliament opened the process for public comment initial responses to the Bill were negative with over 76% rejecting the Bill, a late surge of support for the Bill brought that number to a small majority in favour. However, a large number of submissions received before the cut-off date for written submissions are still unprocessed and of those, the majority, even the vast majority are likely to be against the Bill.

Enter the provincial public hearings phase

With the Bill lacking strong support the fight has gone to the provinces with both sides mobilizing their supporters to make oral and written submissions at the public hearings with the hope of turning the tide in their favour. The ANC and their allies will hope that in the public hearings in the provinces that they will get sufficient support to create a strong majority in favour of the Bill. Their opponents will be striving to get the final result much closer to the line. It will be politically very difficult to get the Bill to pass through parliament if the majority of South Africans reject the Bill. Therefore, there is a lot at stake and if you want your voice to be heard it is vital to attend the public hearings.

However, even the supporters of the Bill are almost unanimous in rejecting some clauses such as the clause allowing for the sale of alcohol on school premises.

Other special interest groups such as homeschoolers are focused on single clauses. Clause 37, the clause on home education, seeks to restrict curriculum choice for homeschoolers and subject them to much closer monitoring. Homeschoolers are therefore opposing it vigorously. They have been the most vocal and organized opponents of the Bill and it is most probably testament to their political acumen that much of the coverage that the Bill has received has been about homeschooling. It is also the reason that many parents in the general school community think of the Bill as a homeschooling bill. The Bill will reshape the education landscape not just for the less than 50 000 homeschoolers but for the more than 12 million learners in public schools.

As the homeschoolers have done such a good job in capturing media attention, we will deal primarily with the key clauses that will impact public schools:

At the heart of the main controversy over the Bill are two clauses, those dealing with admission policy and those dealing with language policy.

More than one language of instruction

Clause 6 amending Section 5 of the South African Schools Act will empower the head of a provincial education department to direct a public school to adopt more than one language of instruction. Opponents of the Bill suggest that this will mean the end of single medium Afrikaans schools. While the supporters argue that this will stop language being used to exclude Black learners from schools and will also limit overcrowding in schools that use a language other than Afrikaans.

The proposed changes require the governing body to submit the language policy to the Head of Department for approval, who must consider various factors before approving it. When considering a public school's language policy, the factors the Head of Department must take into account are the best interests of the child, equality, the number of learners who speak the language of learning and teaching, effective use of classroom space and resources, and the language needs of the broader community in the education district. The language policy must be reviewed every three years, and any changes must be submitted for approval. The Head of Department can direct a public school to have more than one language of instruction, but must take certain factors into account and inform the school and community of their decision. If the governing body is not satisfied with the decision, they can appeal to the Member of the Executive Council within 14 days.

Admission Policy

Technically, the admission policy requirement is very much a twin of the language policy changes. Those in favour of this clause argue that this will stop some schools limiting numbers while other schools are overcrowded. There is a fear that school governing bodies tell parents that a school is full as a way of excluding learners the school does not want to admit. The counter-argument is that this will lead to a drop of quality in the education received as schools know best how many learners they can accommodate.

Clause 4, sub-section 5 of Section 5 states that the governing body of a public school will determine the admission policy, but the Head of Department will have the final authority to admit learners. The admission policy will be required to take into account the needs of the broader community, the best interests of the child, accessibility to other schools, available resources and space at the school, and will need to be reviewed every three years. The governing body will need to submit the admission policy to the Head of Department for approval, and any changes will also need to be submitted for approval. If a learner is refused admission, they or their parent will be able to appeal to the Member of the Executive Council within 14 days. If the governing body is not satisfied with the decision of the Head of Department, they will also be able to appeal to the Member of the Executive Council within 14 days. While the appeal is being considered, the admission policy will remain valid and applicable.

Alcohol

While there is disagreement over the advisability of the admission and language policy clauses there are very few voices being raised in support of Clause 8 that allows for the sale of liquor in school as a means of raising funds. It seems that only the Department of Basic Education and the Minister are in favour of this clause, and some may say enthusiastically so given the tone of the section of the memorandum dealing with this clause. To quote the DBE “This amendment was informed by the fact that alcohol has a place in our society, if it is consumed responsibly, by adults and by the fact that events at which alcohol is present form an important part of the fundraising activities of most schools.” Even strong supporters of the Bill who state in public that they fully support the Bill are, however, saying at the same time that they are opposed to this clause.

Arguments in favour of this clause have in the main focused on the fact that it is impractical to forbid the possession or consumption of alcohol on school premises as some schools have teacher’s residing on the premises, especially at boarding schools and that wine is used by churches during communion services in school halls. This misses the point though that this does not require the sale of the alcohol.

Opponents fear that this will open a loophole for the widespread sale of alcohol at school and that corrupt principals and governing bodies may even end up allowing taverns to operate on school property.

Learner Pregnancy

ACDP MP, Marie Sukers, has been vocal in opposing granting power to the Minister to make regulations on the grounds that this legally forces schools to refer learners for sexual healthcare, contraception and abortions without parental knowledge or consent.

Hon. Sukers and her supporters argue that Clause 41 that amends Section 61 of the South African Schools Act allows the Minister to make regulations concerning learner pregnancy and that normally the Minister will make those regulations in terms of a policy. They argue the relevant policy is the DBE’s “Policy on the prevention and management of learner pregnancy” that states that its purpose is to “to provide SRH {sexual reproductive health services], including access to effective contraceptive technologies in association with social sector partners, to enable learners to make informed choices, avoid unintended pregnancies or, as necessary, to obtain abortions.”. Given that the Children’s Act allows children as young as 12 to obtain what is called “medical treatment” which includes abortion, without parental consent, the ACDP argues that the BELA Bill will force schools to refer learners for abortions.

They are equally concerned that this clause will allow the minister to create offences, which the ACDP presumes, will target those who are in conscience opposed to this policy. These offences could impose fines and jail time.

The kids that weren’t picked for the team

While this is a Bill with 56 clauses there are those arguing that it is out-of-date and doesn’t cater to current educational realities.

Online Schools

The DA and Dr Wynand Boshoff of the FF+ have argued that the BELA Bill must make provision for changes in the education landscape that began before COVID-19 and have accelerated during the pandemic and since. They have asked that the Bill create an appropriate framework for online schools.

Micro-schools

Micro-schools, which are small schools with usually between 20 and 30 learners are also not catered for in the Bill. These educational institutions grew rapidly during COVID and are too small to easily meet the current registration requirements that are designed for large public schools. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these institutions have tens of thousands of learners attending them but without an appropriate regulatory environment.

Alternative Education

Schools using curricula other than the National Curriculum Statement/CAPS such as the Cambridge syllabus or using other approaches such as Waldorf, Montessori or self-directed learning are also not catered for and their right to use these curricula is not protected.

Conclusion

The Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (BELA Bill) is a significant piece of legislation that will shape the education eco-system for the next 10 to 15 years. The proposed changes to the role of the School Governing Body, specifically in regards to language and admission policies, have sparked a contentious debate between supporters and opponents of the Bill.

The provincial public hearings phase will be crucial in determining whether the Bill passes or not, as initial public comments have shown significant opposition. Additionally, there are concerns regarding the clause allowing for the sale of alcohol on school premises, learner pregnancy, and the lack of provisions for online schools, micro-schools, and alternative curricula. It is important for all stakeholders in the education system to be informed and involved in the process to ensure that the Bill's final outcome is in the best interests of learners and the broader community.