Bela Bill adopted with some changes, now will head to NCOP for a vote

The Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill has moved another step closer to becoming law, with the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) expected to vote on the draft legislation next month.

The NCOP’s Select Committee on Education adopted the contentious bill with new amendments on Wednesday following the conclusion of public consultation process across all provinces.

This is after the bill was passed by the National Assembly in October 2023.

The legislation proposes significant changes to the South African Schools Act (SASA) of 1996 and the Educators Employment Act of 1998.

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Other clauses in the bill include making Grade R the new compulsory school-starting age and formally penalising parents who fail to enroll their children for school.

The bill will ensure that corporal punishment is no longer allowed at school – with penalties for those found guilty of transgressions.

Additionally, the Department of Basic Education will have the final say in admission and language policies.

Bela Bill amendments

The new amendment adopted by the select committee proposed that a school governing body (SGB) must have powers to decide the language policy of a public school.

The clause 5 in the bill had been fiercely contested by opposition as it empowered the head of department (HOD) to decide on the language policy.

“Instead of the head of department, the governing body of a public school when determining the language policy of a school or the amendment thereof must be satisfied that the policy takes into account the language needs in general of the broader community in the education district in which the public school is situated,” parliamentary legal advisor, Phumelele Ngema told the committee on Wednesday.

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Ngema said clause 35 on home schooling was objected to during the consultation process, but stressed that the provision would not disfranchise parents.

“I don’t see the current clause 35 taking away autonomy or doing away with whatever right that any parent or guardian would have over their learner or children.

But what it does is to ensure that both parents and the Department of Basic Education work together cooperatively and understanding their responsibilities as set out in the legal framework.”

She concluded that the Bela Bill with the new changes was likely to pass constitutional muster.

“I still cannot find an issue that speaks to the [unconstitutionality] in line with the existing work of the legislation that we have.”

All provinces in the select committee agreed to the C-list amendments to the bill except the Western Cape.

Watch the meeting below:

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga previously defended the bill, rejecting claims that the legislation was an attack on Afrikaans.

She argued the bill was rather meant for the “protection of every child to have access to education”.

The bill will now be sent to the NCOP for concurrence before it is signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

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