Basic Education committee chair demonstrates why BELA cannot be trusted
10 October 2024
While the FF Plus and many other organisations together with principals and school governing bodies were attending an action summit on the BELA law, the chairperson of the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Basic Education demonstrated in Upington why the law, in its current form, should be opposed at all costs.
The chairperson, Ms Joy Maimela, criticised a school in Upington whose application forms are only available in Afrikaans.
It appears, according to media reports, that the Portfolio Committee visited Duineveld High School in response to a racial incident involving learners of the school which had transpired earlier this year. It is important to note that the FF Plus strongly condemns any racist conduct and believes it should be treated as gross misconduct, which the school did.
According to a report by Network24 on 10 October, Maimela had expressed that she was "shocked" that most of the learners in the school are white, while most people in the area are either black or coloured. She also added that the Afrikaans application form is a means to exclude non-Afrikaans learners.