South Africa's new Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube. Photo by Gallo Images/Lefty Shivambu
New Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has rocked the boat with her call for the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill to be sent back to parliament.
But it’s up to President Cyril Ramaphosa to give it the nod, her head of communications, Elijah Mhlanga, said.
The contentious Bill, in part, addresses teaching in a mother tongue, with critics saying it undermines education in Afrikaans.
“Initially, the minister said that the Bela Bill could be sent back to parliament.
“However, she has since clarified that the Bill is now on the president’s desk and it is up to him to decide what to do with it,” he said.
“The Bill was passed by a majority in parliament after an extensive process. Now that it’s with the president, there is no room for negotiation with the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) or other stakeholders,” Mhlanga said.
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Sadtu is threatening to march to the Union Buildings and again called on Ramaphosa demanding him to sign the Bill into law.
Xolani Fakude, Sadtu’s secretariat officer, expressed concern regarding Gwarube’s call to return the Bill to parliament.
The Bill was passed in May last year, following an extensive decade of consultations involving both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), he said.
“We therefore believe the minister does not have any reasons to actually send the Bill back.
“There is no perfect Bill, and every Bill can be managed through regulations,” Fakude said.
“It is our very strong view as a union that the minister is missing the point and potentially undermining a democratic process that is guided by our constitution regarding how Bills come about.”
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Education expert Hendrick Makaneta said Ramaphosa should thoroughly go through the Bill and, if he is satisfied, then sign it into law.
“It was important that the president looked into the issue of language,” Makaneta said.
“The constitution facilitates this where it is practical, but the Bela Bill, as argued by those opposed to it, proposes to undermine the issue of mother-tongue education, in particular the Afrikaans language.”
Makaneta noted “there is no doubt that up to now, the Bela Bill has resulted in contestation from certain sections of society”.
“Not long ago, the government of national unity (GNU) was established with a view to serve the interests of all South Africans. The last thing we want is for the Bill to reverse the gains that have been registered by GNU,” he said.
Mugwena Maluleke, Sadtu’s general secretary, said the union believed the president was allowing the DA to abuse the process.
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“Second, we believe this delay creates a perception that capital, which is represented by the DA, decides which law goes and which law does not,” he said.
“Is the minister representing the DA or the people of South Africa who have given the National Assembly and NCOP the green light to enact this law to transform education and stop discrimination based on race, socioeconomic, sexual orientation?” Maluleke asked.
“Gwarube cannot use her Cabinet position to work against the same department that initiated the Bill.
“That’s totally unacceptable”.
“It’s to entrench DA racist policy of allowing white schools to discriminate against Africans based on race and socioeconomic backgrounds of our pupils by claiming that the Bill is taking away the powers of the schools’ governing boards.
“This is a narrative that must dismissed and be defeated,” Maluleke said.
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