AfriForum makes oral submission on BELA Bill on the last day of public hearings

Today, AfriForum delivered an oral presentation on the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (the so-called BELA Bill) in Cape Town on the last day on which the public has the opportunity to participate in the National Council of Provinces’ (NCOP) public hearings on this matter.

Nicolene Müller, AfriForum’s Project Coordinator for Education, made the presentation in addition to an extensive written submission that had already been submitted to the education representative of the Western Cape Government in March this year. She mentions that the overwhelming public participation in this afternoon’s hearing proves how strongly parents feel about direct involvement in their children’s education and the management of their schools.

In the presentation, Müller emphasised once more that the Bill does not offer viable solutions to problems in the South African education system, for example the lack of mother-language education, overcrowded schools, and the resulting high dropout rates of learners. On the contrary, it will exacerbate the crises, as the Bill proposes that the provincial heads of Education should henceforth have the final say regarding schools’ admission and language policies.

Müller also elaborated on AfriForum’s point of view that these amendments proposed in the Bill are unconstitutional. AfriForum maintains that the increasing centralisation of power in the hands of the state and the consequent disempowerment of schools’ governing bodies will have disastrous consequences for education in the country.

According to Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s Head of Cultural Affairs, AfriForum is of the opinion that the Bill should be rejected as a whole and that a new amendment bill should be drafted. It should not only be constitutionally aligned and fair, but must also take the latest technological developments and education methods into account.

“However, if the National Council of Provinces accepts the Bill without significant amendments and refers it to the President for final approval, AfriForum is ready to oppose it with legal action,” Bailey adds.

Anyone who wants to support the legal process can give their mandate to AfriForum at stopbela.co.za.