The Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill Public Hearings will, this week, be taking place in the Bojanala (Rustenburg), Ngaka Modiri Molema (Mahikeng) and the Dr Ruth Mompati Education (Vryburg) Districts in the North-West Province from 10 – 12 March 2023.
Since the start of the Public Hearings, Basic Education Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli, has made time to join a few sessions. The DG joined the session in Jack Botes Hall, Limpopo and the Mangaung session in the Free State Province. The DG plans to join the Rustenburg session on 10 March 2023.
The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, accompanied by DBE officials, commenced with Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill Public Hearings in the Limpopo Province during February 2023. They will, in a bid to fulfil their public participation mandate, visit all nine provinces across the country until July 2023, to enhance public involvement to deliver on their mandate of participatory democracy to inform, consult, involve and provide feedback to South Africans on the way forward in respect of the Bill.
“The second set of the Public Hearings took place in the Free State Province last weekend when Free State Education MEC, Dr Tate Makgoe and his Protector, Warrant Officer Vuyo Mdi, were tragically killed in a car accident. As the Portfolio Committee, we were shocked and saddened at the news of the tragic incident and we offer our deepest condolences to the sector, the province and its teachers and learners and to their respective families. During the past years, Dr Makgoe has been instrumental in steering the Free State Province towards continued academic excellence. As an MEC, he understood the role of the Committee and its Oversight role and was therefore always very supportive during these provincial monitoring and oversight visits, providing clear directives and support after each session”, said Committee Chairperson, Ms Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba, on behalf of its members.
The Bill proposes to amend the South African Schools Act (SASA), 1996 (Act No. 84 of 1996) and the Employment of Educators Act (EEA),1998 (Act No. 76 of 1898) to align them with developments in the education landscape and to ensure that systems of learning are put in place in accordance with the right to basic education as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The Committee will be visiting the Mpumalanga Province from 17 –19 March 2023.