Bela Bill raises many concerns

GEORGE NEWS - The Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, or Bela Bill as it is commonly referred to, has caused waves in the schooling communities.

The controversy is still ongoing and currently the department is conducting public hearings in all the provinces to give people a chance to talk about the matter.

A public hearing will be held in George tomorrow, 26 May, from 14:00 to 18:00 at the Pacaltsdorp Community Hall, 47 Mission Street. Those who already submitted written comments will have the opportunity to articulate their views.

What is the Bela Bill?

The Bela Bill was first drafted in 2017, but the current version was introduced to Parliament last year. It is aimed at amending the South African Schools Act of 1996 and the Employment of Educators Act of 1998. The idea is to align them with the developments in education, but the bill has not been welcomed by all.

Once passed, the Bela Bill will provide provincial heads of education departments the power to make a final decision on a school's language and admissions policy. The role of school governing bodies will be significantly smaller. For instance, a school's language policy will be determined by the Members of the Executive Council (MEC) and not by the school governing body (SGB).

Other changes that have raised concern include the punishment for parents who fail to enrol their children for Grade R (12-month jail time is on the table); and the requirement that all homeschoolers must be registered.

Straight from a parent

Regarding Grade R as the proposed compulsory starting point for schoolgoing children, Glenhael Carolus, one of the parents George Herald approached for comment, said his concern is what will happen if parents can't sent their children to school.

"I can appreciate that in poor communities the structural problem will be economic of nature. To prosecute a parent for not sending a child to school due to economic reasons is not going to make this bill effective. You can't take a breadwinner away for six months to a year. Criminalisation is not going to fix the economic problem," said Carolus.

He said there is a lot of focus on SGBs. "They play an important role in the running and affairs of a school.

"There is not a lot of appreciation given to SGBs. A lot of these people give their time and expertise on a no-cost basis. On the flip side, some SGB members might be benefitting from the school, and that can cause a problem. There are a lot of things that need to be unpacked."

Carolus is not in favour of alcohol consumption at schools after hours. "How is this bill going to regulate that when people leave a function at a school, the children driving with the parents - will they get home safely?"

He said the question is more how the government is going to deal with issues such as overcrowded classrooms at schools. "This bill is going to enforce a lot of stuff, but how is it going to fix stuff?"

Some of the key amendments that the bill aims to make:

Making Grade R the new compulsory school starting age, as opposed to Grade 1, as is currently the case.
Compelling the registration of homeschooled learners.
Criminalising parents who do not ensure their child or children are in school, with fines or jail time up to 12 months.
Holding school governing bodies more accountable for disclosures of financial interests - including those related to their spouses and family members.
Prohibiting educators from conducting business with the state or being a director of public or private companies conducting business with the state.
Abolishing corporal punishment and initiation/hazing practices.
Allowing schools to sell alcohol outside of school hours.
Giving government department heads power over language policies and the curriculums a school must adopt.

(Sources: parliament.gov.za; businesstech.co.za.)

Josephine Murray: "Many people in education circles are aware of this. I pray against it, because the laws they want to implement are not right for me. They just don't stop. They want to take the power away from the parents and just have more control. It is becoming like a socialist state. Where is our democracy?"

Glenhael Carolus: "It seems the Bela Bill does want to provide a lot of support with regard to constitution, but there are a lot of questions and uncertainties. I am sure there has been a lot of high-level discussions, diving deep into issues."

Janke van der Merwe, Ward 18 committee member: "Instead of struggling with language policy, build schools! We have a huge shortage of schools. Then there is a school for everyone in their chosen language."

Simon Mtshotana: "Those who don't register their children for Grade R must be jailed indeed."

Maggie Damons: "They already have so much power and they make so many things flop. This is going to be a big problem. They want to send what little is left to further disaster. Children must be taught in their mother tongue. The rural children are Afrikaans. It should be your own decision."