The outcry against the proposed amendments to the South African Schools Act is like a regrouping of those who would like to exclusively keep education benefits to themselves.
This is the view of Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi‚ who was speaking on Monday following an uproar over the Basic Laws Amendment Bill‚ which was published by the Department of Basic Education last month.
Friday was the deadline for the public to make submissions on the Bill.
The proposed amendments to the South African Schools Act‚ if enacted‚ will severely weaken school governing bodies (SGBs)‚ with parents having less say on teacher appointments‚ school language policies and student admissions.
A number of organisations have expressed concerns about the proposed amendments.
The Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools‚ which represents about 2‚100 governing bodies‚ said the governing bodies were not a problem.