DA leader John Steenhuisen has been left irked by Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s push for the implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act without any changes.
Steenhuisen said Mashatile was intent on implementing the bill in its entirety before the GNU parties table a report on the matter to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa signed the act into law in September but delayed the implementation of two clauses, 4 and 5, by three months to allow for further parliamentary discussions.
The three-month period for parties to finalise proposals on the matter lapses on December 13.
One of the contested clauses proposes changes to the authority of school governing bodies (SGB) in determining admission policy in state schools. The other clause wants state schools when determining language policy to take into account the language needs of the broader community.
Parties that have rejected the amendment argue that the act would endanger the survival of the Afrikaans language.
Mashatile, who is a leader of the clearing house committee established for solution finding for GNU partners, has publicly pronounced his support for the act to be implemented without changes.
Speaking to TimesLIVE Premium on Friday during a press briefing on the water crisis, Steenhuisen said he found Mashatile’s move “strange”.
“It is strange that someone who has been tasked with leading a solution finding clearing house would make such an outright definite decision on something. He has not seen the report from the committee, and I think that we should respect the processes within the GNU. I do not think we should be making pronouncements like that,” he said.
The DA leader said the party wanted Ramaphosa to implement the act but was concerned that it would “harm mother tongue education”.
“Ultimately it is up to the president to decide. We believe there is a compromise that can be found. You can implement the Bela Act and include those clauses [4 and 5] but in a way that does not harm mother tongue education. I think that compromise is similar to the one that has been found at Nedlac [National Economic Development and Labour Council]. That is the process that we would be putting on the table for the clearing house to discuss as the DA.”
Basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube signed a settlement with Solidarity Movement and AfriForum at Nedlac to recommend the exclusion the two clauses.
The settlement detailed government should not instruct a school “to adopt a further language of instruction” if not aligned with the SGB language policy.
The settlement wants SGBs to lead policy decisions for schools.
Steenhuisen said the DA would be disappointed if the Bela Act would be implemented without suggested amendments.
“We would be deeply disappointed, we believe the compromise is a win, [a] win all around with the act being implemented and the regulations being done by the minister of basic education. All sides achieve what they wanted to get out of the process,” he said.
Should it be implemented without changes, the DA's leadership would decide on the party’s future in GNU, he said.
“The party would have to make a decision on the way forward. It will be something to discuss by our federal executive.”
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