Education expert Professor Mary Metcalfe says she expects careful and considered engagements around the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act to take place over the next three months in provinces across the country.
Metcalfe was speaking following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing of the then Bill into law. And the subsequent announcement that its implementation would be delayed by three months.
This after some public outcry over clauses 4 and 5 of the Act. These speak to school admissions, language policies and compulsory Grade R.
“My expectation is that there will be very careful interaction with provinces in terms of Grade R. Also the realistic dates of implementation that match careful planning… and that would be clause 4 of Bela.
Bela doesn’t change any existing constitutional or legal provisions
“In terms of clause 5 of Bela, what is important primarily is …to recognise firstly that Bela doesn’t change any existing laws.
Metcalfe allayed fears that the delay in implementation of the Act may leave education departments without policy direction.
“What happens in those three months [is that]… we continue to use the existing law so we’re not in a vacuum. There is a law, the previous Bela Act, which is based on the South African Schools Act. That will continue to guide the work of education departments and give direction to the public,” she said.
Clause 5 won’t impact mother tongue
There has been opposition to two particular clauses in the Act. It stems from the belief that the clauses take away the powers of an SGB on school admissions and language policies.
With respect to clause 5, there is a belief that mother tongue instruction will be impacted.
The clauses, in fact, state that an SGB retains control over these policies.
On the language policy issue, Metcalfe emphasised that there is “a lot of miscommunication in the public”. This around what Bela is doing with mother tongue education.
“The first principle that everybody needs to understand is that the right to instruction in your mother tongue is enshrined in the Constitution.
Metcalfe added that changing demographics and population shifts impact language use in certain areas. These require schools to adapt to the people that they serve.
“We have contexts, where we have very intermingled multilingual communities. A good example, of course is the large urban metropolitan areas like Soweto where you find all South African languages.
SGB to have more powers
“In the eastern Limpopo … you might have Tshivenda and Xitsonga language speakers in one community. You might find that there have been demographic changes. Where the Tshivenda speaking population is growing, and the Xitsonga speaking population is reducing. You would then find that the Tshivenda learners might need more spaces than those that exist in Xitsonga schools.
“In [this] case, it would be the responsibility of the department to speak to the SGB of the Xitsonga speaking schools. To say, is there a way in which we can use the spare capacity in your school? And have a dual medium or parallel medium school. This so that the Tshivenda speaking learners are able to get a place in schools. That’s not controversial. Most South Africans would understand that,” she said.
The Bela Act, Metcalfe said, “spells out the procedures by which the Basic Education Department will engage” SGBs. This to “suggest that the school should be dual medium or parallel medium. So that the available spaces in the public school are used in the best interests”.
Compulsory Grade R admission explained
The Act now compels parents to send children to Grade R for compulsory schooling.
Metcalfe again laid aside fears that government is attempting to “criminalise parents”.
“Currently in South Africa, we have about 96% to 97% of learners in Grade R. So already, there’s almost complete participation of learners who are five turning six in Grade R.
“However, that [was] not yet compulsory. And what that means is that many public schools have Grade R attached. But because it’s not compulsory, the state is not responsible for teachers’ salaries. Or necessarily for infrastructure, although often public infrastructure is used for Grade R. Once Grade R becomes compulsory, then the state must pay the teachers. And must make sure that all of the resources are there and the infrastructure.
“Bringing attendance and compulsory attendance one year earlier means that we are able to reach children. [This is] particularly important, given the levels of inequality in our country. That young children are able to access formal learning… where they are exposed to text. Where they’re exposed to group learning. It’s a good thing that we do this earlier,” she said.
New Act sets out guidelines on the two school policies
Metcalfe urged parents and SGBs to rest assured that the new Act sets out guidelines on the two school policies. Also on how Education Departments act.
“Bela sets out that if the provincial Head of Department doesn’t agree with the decisions of the SGB, [the Act] sets out every step of the process that follows.
“So in my view, the detailed specifications of Bela also protect SGBs. So that they can be sure that decisions are procedurally fair. And if they are not, they are reviewable in terms of our courts,” Metcalfe said.
- SAnews.gov.za
