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SA's education crisis: Does the BELA bill miss the mark?
The contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, which has been years in the making, passed its first legislative hurdle last month after the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education agreed to and adopted the bill. It will now head to the National Assembly.
Some of the proposals the committee adopted included making Grade R the new compulsory school-starting age. Concerns, though, have been raised whether there are enough resources to undertake such a move.
Some NGOs have also raised concerns about the wording of "documents" required for school admission without providing clarity on what this means. Parents or caregivers could be jailed for submitting false or misleading information.
Another area of contention is the stipulations on language and admission and the stipulation that the final decision rests with the Head of Department of Education in each province.
Much has been written on the country's education crisis. A recent report revealed that the country is the single biggest learning underperformer relative to GDP per capita among low and middle-income countries, performing worse than Kenya or Tanzania when it comes to education.
In this week's Friday Briefing, we ask whether the BELA Bill is missing the mark when it comes to dealing with our education system failures.
Wits University education policy expert Brahm Fleisch takes an in-depth look at the bill, highlighting where it does align with recent Constitutional Court judgments, but also where it falls short.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has also written for us. She explains why she champions the bill, despite it having its critics.
We also have a submission from the DA's Baxolile Nodada, who explains why his party rejected the bill.
Finally, the CEO of the Federation of Associations of Governing Bodies of South African Schools, Jaco Deacon, details why he thinks schools will suffer a knock under this bill.
It's an important matter concerning the future of our children, so we hope you take the time to read all four submissions.
Best,
Vanessa Banton
Opinions editor.
While much of the public debate has focused on a few contentions sections of the BELA Bill, most of the proposed amendments are minor updates, writes education policy expert Brahm Fleisch. He reflects on whether the bill will substantively address South Africa's learning crisis.
The current version of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill has been shaped by extensive consultations over several years and aims to realise Education 2.0, writes Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.
DA MP Baxolile Nodada writes that it's troubling to see how easily the public's concerns over the BELA Bill were ignored, given the tremendous effort to analyse submissions and the cost of public hearings – at least R900 000 per province
With the general elections around the corner, the BELA Bill has become a matter of politics instead of education, writes Dr Jaco Deacon, CEO of the Federation of Associations of Governing Bodies of South African Schools.
