COSATU welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to assent to the BELA Bill
12 September 2024
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to assent to the long debated Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill. The BELA Bill contains many common sense and long-overdue progressive provisions that will help to protect the rights of learners to dignity and protection. It is a tragedy that in the course of the public debate some have chosen to deliberately distort some of its provisions and others have simply decided to fabricate things which are actually not in the Bill.
The BELA Bill contains several progressive and some long-overdue provisions, including:
Establishing Grade R as a required part of schooling for all learners. This will help lay a stronger foundation for learners entering Grade 1.
Strengthening provisions requiring learners to attend school and holding parents accountable for their children’s attendance.