The National Assembly on Thursday passed the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill that was referred back for concurrence by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
The ANC secured 193 votes with support from the EFF, IFP, NFP and PAC, against the combined 78 garnered by the DA, Freedom Front Plus, ACDP and Al Jama-ah.
“The bill is passed. The question is accordingly agreed and the bill will be sent to the president for assent,” said House chairperson Grace Boroto.
The bill makes it compulsory for children to attend school and also provides for home-based education, among other things.
However, the powers to be given to the head of department to intervene in schools’ language and admission policy has been a contentious issue since the bill was formulated.
Speaking during the debate on the bill, committee chairperson Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba said the bill was a critical milestone for the sixth Parliament and more especially the education sector.
Mbinqo-Gigaba said the amendments made by the NCOP included sanctions to be imposed by the courts on those who prohibited children from attending school.
She said the amendments emphasised the authority and role of school governing bodies (SGBs) in determining the schools’ language policy or any amendment thereof.
“If the SGB is not satisfied with the directive of the head of department, they may appeal to a member of the executive within 14 days,” she said.
Mbinqo-Gigaba also said the bill made provision that SGBs could reasonably suspend a pupil who is suspected or accused of serious misconduct from attending school, upon being given the right to make representation.
DA MP Baxolile Nodada accused the ANC of sacrificing the future of countless generations for cheap electioneering by bulldozing the Bela Bill through Parliament.
“Instead of engaging in meaningful discussions about the widespread implications of the bill and the changes made by the NCOP, the ANC chairperson refused to follow parliamentary protocol and denied opposing parties’ right to include thorough inputs to the changes.
“She booted me out of the meeting for raising valid concerns and her ANC majority adopted a bill full of mistakes without interrogating its final version,” Nodada said.
EFF MP Ringo Madlingozi said the “Red Berets” supported making schooling from grade R to 12 compulsory and the criminalisation of anyone who blocks children from attending school without a just cause “We support the provision to give principals more powers to monitor attendance of children at school and to take action where a pupil is absent.
This provision is purporting to curb the high rate of dropout at schools,” Madlingozi said.
He also said they were in support of the powers given to the heads of department to make a determination on language policy at schools.
“This function can’t be left to the SGBs, as many in previously white schools used language to exclude black children,” he added.
Freedom Front Plus’s Wynand Boshoff said although the bill was met with vehement opposition and rejection in the public participation process, the ANC decided to push it through.
Boshoff said the Constitution guaranteed linguistic and cultural communities’ right to self-determination, including schools.
“If the president signs this law, a full-blown legal battle will ensue.
The poor consideration of public participation and certain flawed aspects of the bill itself will most probably.
Cape Times