Major disagreements amongs community members in Gert Sibande District during the BELA Bill public consultation

Byline: Andani Matumba

16 May 2023

A major point of difference amongst the residents within the Greater Gert Sibande District Municipality which provoked divergence of views is the procurement of teaching and learning materials, which is proposed in the Basic Laws Amendment Bill (Bela Bill), with some participants rejecting the proposal while others supported it.

This occured at the public participation process which was held at the Sasol Recreation Center in eMbalenhle on Monday, 08 May 2023

The hearing in Secunda was postponed in March this year due to miscommunication of the venue.

The committee committed then to hold another hearing in the province to ensure that Mpumalanga enjoys the same opportunity regarding public participation on the Bill like other provinces.

Those that supported the Bill in Secunda, highlighted that clause 16 of the Bill will ensure uniformity across the public schooling system and as suggested by the Bill will “ensure the economic utilisation of public funds” as schools will benefit from economies of sale and negotiated prices as the Department of Basic Education (DBE) will be buying in bulk.

But those who opposed the clause highlighted the risks posed by inefficiencieswithin government procurement as well as rampant corruption.

They argued that centralisation has a potential of causing mayhem in the basic education system.

Meanwhile, there were also disagreements regarding language and admission policy as proposed by the Bill.

Those who supported the Bill welcomed its progressive intentions to eliminate barriers that make entry at schools difficult especiallylanguage.

They highlighted that some school governing bodies continue to perpetuate a culture of exclusion using language and admission policies to unfairly exclude other learners.

Those who were against the Bill underscored that school governing bodies remain the only structures capable offormulating democratic and legitimate language and admission policies as they are close to schools and understand the general environment within which schools are situated.

Furthermore, they argued that the centralisation of power within the Head of the DBE’s office will inadvertently cause unnecessary delays in making required decisions.

There were also opposing views in relation to home-schooling.

Proponents of this system of education rejected the Bill outrightly as they argued that clause 37 denies parents power and authority to make decisions about their children.

They also expressed a concern that there was minimal research done on the Bill as a result, they claimed, the Bill is not tailor-made for the environment.

Those that supported the Bill said clause 37 will create certainty within the environment and will ensure that the department conducts proper monitoring.

Similar to other hearings held in other provinces, there was consensus among the participants regarding their rejection of the sale of alcohol in school premises.

They argued that the sale of alcohol will worsen the problem of substance abuse which the country is battling to address currently.

The committee has now completed public participation processes in Limpopo, Free State, North West, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Furthermore, the committee highlighted its respect for the public participation process and is of the view that the hearings held have given members of the committee insight on the lived experiences in the basic education system.