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Mail & Guardian reports that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) says it is willing to discuss language policies in the controversial Basic Education Law Amendment (Bela) Act, in the wake of legal action taken by trade union Solidarity.
Solidarity, AfriForum and the Solidarity Support Centre for Schools initiated legal action against the Bela Act, claiming it was “an act of aggression by the government against Afrikaans schools and children”. Solidarity’s communications manager Pieter Jordaan advised: “Solidarity and AfriForum were notified by the office of the minister of basic education of a willingness to further discuss our concerns regarding the early proclamation of the entire Bela Act (including sections 4 and 5), without the necessary norms and standards having been put in place,” . Section 4 of the Bela Act gives the department greater control over admissions policy, while section 5 compels school governing bodies to submit the school’s language policy to the provincial head of department for approval. During the consultation period, which Solidarity was part of, the union expressed concerns about the increased centralisation of control over school management, saying it would detrimentally limit the influence of school governing bodies and parents in making decisions about their children’s education. DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga confirmed that the department was consulting with stakeholders regarding the implementation of the Act.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Umamah Bakharia at Mail & Guardian
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