Contentious clauses proposed in the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) bill got some people hot under the collar during public hearings in Mpumalanga at the weekend.
Among problematic amendments were those indicating that the provincial heads of education departments be given the final say over the admission of pupils to schools and language policies.
Other sticking points included parents having to apply to the education department to register a child for homeschooling and the provision for conditions under which liquor may be possessed, consumed or sold on school premises or during school activities.
The requirement that governing body members and their spouses, partners or family members annually disclose their financial interests also did not go down well with some who attended the hearings in Kanyamazane, Mbombela, on Saturday.
Eleven MPs from the portfolio committee on education attended.
The bill proposes to change the South African Schools Act (SASA) of 1996 and the Employment of Educators Act (EEA) of 1998 to align them with education landscape developments.
The infringement of the governing body’s powers relating to the school’s language policy vesting the discretion to decide on the head of department is restricting the constitutional principles and governing body’s functions
— Maritza Uys, governing body member, Hoërskool Nelspruit
The hearings scheduled for Secunda in Mpumalanga on Sunday were postponed.
During Saturday’s hearing, Maritza Uys, a member of the governing body of Hoërskool Nelspruit, who “partially” supported the bill, said if the head of department had the final say over pupil admissions, “it would amount to a centralisation of power that goes against the original aim of SASA”.
“The infringement of the governing body’s powers relating to the school’s language policy vesting the discretion to decide on the head of department is restricting the constitutional principles and governing body’s functions.”
JP Hugo, from the South African Teachers’ Union (Saou) in Ehlanzeni, echoed similar concerns about the head of department having the final authority to admit a pupil to a public school.
“This means that 24,000 schools countrywide are expected to submit their school’s admission policy to the head of department for approval. This is problematic, seeing the department does not have the capacity to review all these policies on an equal and fair basis.”
Hugo said the governing body and school community “are the most informed role players to determine the language policy of a school”.
He said asking governing body members to disclose their financial interests would deter parents from serving on such bodies.
Lizelle Nelson, chairperson of the governing body at Laerskool Barberton, also believed the requirement for governing body members to disclose their financial interests “will constitute unreasonable invasion of privacy”.
Supporting the bill, Zintutugo Mavuso, an ANC branch chairperson for one of the wards, strongly objected to the sale of alcohol on school premises.
“The proposals seem to confer much more powers on governing bodies than necessary because we cannot put all our trust in them to decide on the language policy to be used in schools.”
The South African Principals’ Association (Sapa) in Mpumalanga said it supported the bill in its entirety “because it represents what the principals need”.
Never Ntane, Sapa’s general secretary in Mpumalanga, said it opposed the sale of alcohol on school premises.
A supporter of home education said the need for homeschooling “reduces the pressure on over-sized classes and will cater for children who wouldn’t otherwise flourish in a class, let alone a large class”.
“The Bible tells us our children are a gift from God. We as parents understand our own kids and their needs better than anyone else on this beautiful planet.”
The African Democratic Christian Party, which rejected the bill, dubbed it a “schools’ abortion bill and a comprehensive sexuality education bill”.
“This is a bill that could open the door to force girls to share toilets with boys and a bill that could have the department of basic education teaching children that humans were not created male and female.”
This is a bill that could open the door to force girls to share toilets with boys and a bill that could have the department of basic education teaching children that humans were not created male and female
— African Democratic Christian Party
David Gear, an education consultant, proposed that “under-resourced” families of pupils attending home and cottage schools be subsidised by the government.
“I ask you, what happens to the rural quintile 1, 2 and 3 children [those from the poorest schools] who are diagnosed as special needs? The answer is they are bullied by their peers and sidelined by teachers who have far too much on their plate.”
He said for many of the estimated 2-million pupils who fall into the special needs group, “traditional school is a living hell”.
Pumelele Mokoena, the ANC’s branch secretary in ward 21, who endorsed the bill, said homeschooling “undermines the education system of our country”.
A Molele, a representative of school governing bodies across South Africa, said some children attending the hearings from “hoerskool” have been brainwashed. “They will say, ‘I don’t support the bill’. That’s what they have been taught in hoerskool.”
Said Molele: “We don’t think we black people can make it. We always undermine our education system and white people will always emerge victorious, even if they are a minority in our midst. Black people, wake up and smell the coffee.”
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) in Mpumalanga indicated it supported the bill.
Hlondeka Nkosi, a member of the representative council of learners (RCL) at one school, said they vehemently opposed to the sale of alcohol on school premises.
“Schools face violence without alcohol consumption. How will the schools operate if our teachers and learners are under the influence? Are we raising youth who will become drunkards?”
Hester Marie, a 14-year-old homeschooler, said the clause on homeschooling “wants to put us in the same box as schools, in the same four-walled classrooms, curriculum and evaluations”.
“Homeschooling is a different way of educating children, but normal schools and home education is education. Their aim is the same.”
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