The Economic Freedom Fighters has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to sign the divisive Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill into law at the Union Buildings on Friday.
IOL has previously reported that Ramaphosa is set to sign the controversial BELA Bill into law at the Union Buildings, a move which has upset other parties in the Government of National Unity, particularly the Democratic Alliance (DA) which has threatened to go to court.
The BELA Bill amends sections of the South African Schools Act of 1996 (SASA) and the Employment of Educators Act, 1998 (EEA) to account for developments in the education landscape since the enactment of the original legislation.
On the eve of the scheduled signing, EFF national spokesperson, Leigh-Ann Mathys said South Africa needs the BELA Bill.
“The BELA Bill introduces a suite of amendments to address systematic inequalities of basic education in South Africa. The DA is vehemently opposed to the Bill because of its inherent hatred of the African child,” said Mathys.
“We particularly support the fact that heads of departments will now be given the final authority to determine the admission and language policies at schools. The school governing bodies are currently solely responsible for this, and this has enabled them to use this power to exclude African learners and entrench racism at these schools.
“This power has been used as a tool in the hands of white supremacists to isolate African languages, and exclude African children from attending public schools that were formerly exclusively white,” she said.
On the other hand, the GOOD party led by Minister Patricia de Lille has also thrown its weight behind the BELA Bill.
“Most of the opposition to the Bill has been caused by the typical mass-hysteria of the DA. This does very little to address the real educational challenges faced by the majority of South Africans,” secretary general of GOOD, Brett Herron told IOL.
“Education is a serious issue and there is no time for political games and disinformation, even more so now that the DA finds themselves in the GNU. Using vague, empty threats of instability in government is childish and reflects very poor leadership by those who are supposed to be working for all South Africans.”
Herron said what the Bill tries to achieve is “largely sensible”, and in line with the Constitution and the judgments of the courts.
“In the main, GOOD supports the BELA Bill. However, the Bill itself is inadequate to solve the predominant issue in South Africa’s education system: poor quality infrastructure, teaching and teaching resources,” he said.
“The BELA Bill is a small step forward. But the fight must still go on for the true fulfilment of the right of access to adequate education for every child.”
Earlier, IOL reported that DA spokesperson Willie Aucamp said the president is threatening the GNU which was formed after the May 29 general elections when the ANC lost its majority.
“It is very important to realise that the DA is not threatening to exit the Government of National Unity. The threat to the GNU currently is from the president’s side. The president knew how we and other parties feel about this and he decided to carry on, irrespective of our feelings.
“So it is the ANC that is, in their actions, being a threat to the GNU. We must protect this GNU at all costs and the Democratic Alliance will look at all the options available, plus, should this be signed into law, we will take this to court. We will take this to the Constitutional Court if needs be. We will look at the options available to us,” said Aucamp.
On the other hand, civil rights group AfriForum threatened that it will proceed with legal steps as soon as Ramaphosa signs the BELA Bill.
“AfriForum views the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (BELA) as an attempt at cultural ethnic cleansing by the ANC government, as the implementation of the Bill will enable the destruction of a linguistic and cultural community’s schools, thereby jeopardising the group’s cultural existence,” said Alana Bailey, head of cultural affairs at AfriForum.
AfriForum made the announcement during a joint media conference alongside Solidarity, Solidarity Helping Hand, the Skoleondersteuningsentrum (SOS) and the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (FAK) on Wednesday.
According to Bailey, over the years, thousands of members of AfriForum and the wider public have pledged their support to AfriForum’s sharp opposition to the Bill.
IOL