Public cannot be barred from public BELA hearings – DA encourages communities to attend FS hearings this weekend
2 March 2023
Note to editors: Please find attached soundbite by Baxolile 'Bax' Nodada MP.
The DA has been inundated with very worrying complaints that Departmental structures are dictating who is allowed to participate in the public hearings for the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill.
The DA has seen letters by the Director of the Thabo Mofutsanyana Education District in the Free State to Chief Education Specialists (CESs), Circuit Managers, principals, chairpersons of school governing bodies (SCBs), and unions trying to persuade principals into ensuring that only they and SGB chairpersons attend the public hearings.
This use of State machinery to curtail public comment about the unpopular, draconian Bill is wholly unconstitutional. Public hearings are just that – public. They are to ensure that government receive input from all stakeholders on proposed legislation, in this case, parents, teachers, all members of SGBs, community members, education stakeholders, and organisations that wish to give input.