Following months of stakeholder and public participation on the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education this week, concluded deliberations and adopted the Bill on 26 September 2023.
The DBE views the conclusion of the deliberations as resulting in legislation that better supports the right to basic education as enshrined in section 29(1) of the Constitution to assist the sector to take the transformation agenda of the country forward. The BELA Bill will strengthen governance in schools by addressing stubborn challenges experienced within the sector. The BELA Bill will amend certain sections of the South African Schools Act (SASA) of 1986 to respond to administrative challenges facing schools in terms of the changing demographics of communities, findings by the courts and observations registered during the monitoring of schools.
Some of the proposals that were adopted in the Bill include making Grade R the new compulsory school-starting age; penalties for parents who do not ensure that their children are in school; and confirmation that corporal punishment is no longer allowed at schools with penalties for those found guilty of such offences. In terms of language policy, the amendment states that the School Governing Body (SGB) must submit the language policy of a public school and any amendment thereof to the Head of Department (HoD) for approval. The language policy must also take into consideration the language needs of the broader community. The Committee further adopted the proposed amendment that the HoD, after consultation with the SGB, has the final authority to admit a learner to a public school. The proposed amendment, regarding home education, was partially agreed to. This amendment provided for the HoD to, when considering an application, require a delegated official to conduct a pre-registration site visit. It was agreed that the said site visits can happen at any place of choice should parents not agree to such visits at their homes. Furthermore, a report at the end of each phase will now be required by a qualified educator or assessor to prove the competency of the learner in that phase.
Other proposed amendments such as the proposed amendment regarding the sale of alcohol on school premises after hours during functions, were scraped in totality. The proposed amendment for SBG members to disclose their financial interests and the financial interests of his or her spouse, partner and immediate family members also did not garner the support and was deemed too onerous an administrative task.
The BELA Bill and the Committee report will now be referred to the National Assembly for debate and consideration.