AfriForumYouth has taken its fight for the Afrikaans language to the Union Buildings, saying the bill was a stark reminder of how the Afrikaans language was once rejected.
The small group, armed with placards, on Monday said the basic education laws amendment (Bela) bill, if signed into law, is a threat to mother-language education in South Africa, and especially to Afrikaans mother-language education.
As they headed to the Union Buildings, the members of AfriForum Youth wore blackboards with the words “I am a donkey” around their necks and displayed a giant eraser at the protest.
Explaining the gesture, AfriForum Youth spokesperson Louis Boshoff said the bill was reminiscent of the anglicisation policy that British authorities applied in schools shortly after the Anglo-Boer War some 120 years ago.
He said as part of this policy, Afrikaner children were humiliated if they spoke Afrikaans at school. He said signs with the words “I am a donkey, I spoke Dutch” were then hung around the children’s necks in an attempt to anglicise them.
The organisation presented a memorandum at the Union Buildings addressed to President Cyril Ramaphosa, where it appealed to him to scrap the bill.
In October last year, the National Assembly approved the bill which deals with public school admissions and language policies.
The bill is now being considered by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), whose last public hearings on the bill took place earlier this month.
If the NCOP approves the bill, it will then be submitted to the president for him to sign it into law.
In terms of the bill, final decision-making powers regarding school placement policy will rest with the provincial heads of education, thus disempowering school governing bodies.
The organisation also said the bill contained clauses that stripped school governing bodies of the power to determine a school’s language policy, which will be determined by provincial education heads.
In the memorandum, AfriForum Youth said it had made formal submissions to parliament that the bill was unconstitutional on several grounds.
It said the bill has not kept up to date with the most recent developments in the field of education.
“After the Covid-19 lockdowns, distance learning has become a reality that needs to be accommodated in an education bill.”
AfriForum Youth said though it was in favour of public and private schools that were the heart of their communities, the lack of adequate infrastructure meant homeschooling had become a reality that should be embraced and accommodated in legislation.
“For many pupils that do not find a place in a school, that is the only alternative to illiteracy.”
The organisation said the most successful schools were ones with involved and actively caring parents.
“Their enthusiasm drives and inspires staff and learners to excel. Parents should have more power to get involved via the democratically elected school governing bodies, not less.”
It also said its members enjoyed the privilege of mother language education and were currently reaping the fruits and want their children to have the same privilege.
“Thus no bill should be passed that has the potential to endanger mother-language education. Instead there should be a renewed focus on making mother-language education available to more language communities in South Africa.”
The organisation said if parliament did not adequately address its concerns in the bill, Ramaphosa should exercise his power in terms of the constitution to refer it to the Constitutional Court for a ruling on its constitutionality.
