AfriForum finds no reassurance in the so-called concessions to the BELA Bill

25 April 2024

AfriForum finds no reassurance in the announced amendments to the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (better known as the BELA Bill) which was approved by the Select Committee on Education, Technology, Sport, Arts and Culture of the National Council of Provinces (NRP) yesterday. It is therefore continuing with preparations for legal action, should the Bill be passed.

According to Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s Head of Cultural Affairs, AfriForum’s main objection remains, namely that the provincial heads of education have the right to decide on schools’ admission and language policies. If school governing bodies are dissatisfied with such decisions, they can appeal to the MEC, which means that the highest authority will still rest with a political appointment.

As AfriForum has previously indicated, the Department of Basic Education regularly claims that governing bodies maliciously and unlawfully exclude children. Where allegations had been made against specific schools in the past, as in the case of Hoërskool Overvaal, the courts ruled after protracted and expensive legal battles that the departmental allegations had been unfounded. “We regularly ask the Department for examples of exclusion and offer to help investigate and reverse the so-called malicious actions of schools, but the department fails to name specific schools. On the other hand however, we can name schools that are overcrowded or anglicised due to departmental interference and pressure on school communities and staff,” she says.

“The key issues, namely that the government is power-hungry and wants to decide on behalf of parents about their children, as well as the department’s complete inability to build sufficient schools for the country’s children, are not being addressed. The controversial clauses of the BELA Bill that deal with governing bodies’ decision-making powers and other aspects such as home and micro-schooling are now included in an effort to silence people who try to highlight and address these problems,” Bailey says.

The next step is that a session will take place on 2 May 2024, where the provinces will vote on the Bill according to their final mandates, after which it is expected to be referred to the NRP for debate.

AfriForum remains committed to its intention to oppose the BELA Bill while it poses a threat to the continued existence of Afrikaans schools. The public can give their mandate to AfriForum in this regard at www.stopbela.co.za.

Issued by Alana Bailey, Head: Cultural Affairs, AfriForum, 25 April 2024