Parliament urges immediate implementation of the Bela Act. Picture: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
Cape Town - Parliament is expecting the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to implement the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act without any excuses.
This was the word from basic education portfolio committee chairperson, Joy Maimela, when she was fielding questions from the media during the weekly committee cluster media briefing in Parliament on Thursday.
“We engaged the department on the state of readiness and they assured us that they are prepared,” Maimela said.
She noted that the Bela Act introduced significant reforms on key provisions that includes compulsory Grade R, language and admission policy changes.
The new law grants the provincial education departments the authority over school admission, aimed to standardise processes and eliminate discriminatory practices, in order to ensure equitable access to education for all learners.
Maimela told the media at present, there was an issue of admission at some schools.
“This is more prevalent in former Model C schools, where we see a majority of certain members of community around the schools are unable to get access to those schools due to language policy.
“We believe this Act will intervene really in that instance,” she said.
“While the Act introduces measures to address long-standing challenges, its success will largely depend on the effective implementation and collaboration of all stakeholders within the education sector,” she said.
Asked if the department would be prepared to implement the Bela Act especially the provision of Grade R and admission to schools, Maimela said they engaged the department on the matter.
“This is the question we asked last year even when the president gave an extended time (on consultation on admission and language clauses). We asked the department: are you ready to implement the Act?
“The department assured that Grade R was already provided even before it was made compulsory. There were shortfalls in the qualification of Grade R teachers and the department assured they will implement a capacity building programme, where they provide support to Grade R teachers who don’t have qualifications. We said they need to enhance it.”
However, Maimela said the national department had raised the issue of infrastructure in terms of classes, as they were challenged with backlogs, while the provincial department in the Western Cape raised major concern about budget.
She also took swipe at Solidarity, AfriForum, and Solidarity Support Centre for Schools after they sent a letter of demand to President Cyril Ramaphosa and Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube asking for further discussion on the controversial clauses to avoid litigation.
Maimela said the organisations’ utterances and objections on the two clauses bordered on racism, and they had demonstrated that they were concerned about the former Model C schools they regarded as theirs.
She accused them of wanting to preserve their culture and Afrikaans language.
“We believe they are misguided in their objection to those clauses. Really we need to have an engagement with them that ‘it is not your schools’. Those schools are public”.
Maimela also said the organisations wanted to separate learners based on colour.