The Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, today submitted the controversial Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill to the relevant Portfolio Committee and it is imperative that the public takes note of the ensuing processes.
This follows the Department's consultation with interested parties, which commenced in 2017 when the Bill was first published.
The Portfolio Committee now has the opportunity to follow a public participation process of its own before the Bill is referred to the various provincial legislatures. It is important that all interested parties participate in these processes.
At present, the South African Schools Act, which was adopted in 1996, is still in effect. When the drastic changes that have occurred in the educational field in the meantime are considered, however, it does make sense to re-write the law.
Unfortunately, the Bill fails to take the explosion of information technology, particularly in the educational field, into account. Instead, it seems that its main aim is to restrict the independence of public schools and to reduce the leeway currently available to home and independent schools.
In the FF Plus's view, education is a communal matter. Parents and communities must be afforded the freedom to choose between the various educational possibilities – taking into account that the once distinctive lines between schools, virtual schools and home schooling have begun to fade.
As it currently stands, the Bill fails to take this into account because it approaches the educational landscape as if it is the same as thirty years ago.
Everyone who has an opinion on this matter ought to put it into words and keep an eye on the media for the times and places where public participation will take place.
The government always tends to want to centralise and subjugate education. And if those who have a different view do not oppose it in a reasoned manner with the relevant expertise, that is exactly what the government will do.
