Basic education minister, Siviwe Gwarube. (Lefty Shivambu/Gallo)
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has put its planned court challenge to the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act on hold and will instead allow the matter to be dealt with by the government of national unity (GNU) clearing house.
But the DA leadership is adamant that the party will not back down on its objections to certain clauses of the Act — including one on language policy at public schools — and the matter will probably end up in court if not resolved within the 90-day deadline set by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
A senior party source said the DA remains sceptical about the ANC’s commitment to protecting mother-tongue education.
“We will give the GNU process a chance but the DA will not stand down on ensuring the right to mother-tongue education,” it said.
DA spokesperson Karabo Khakhau told the Mail & Guardian that the party wants to exhaust the dispute resolution processes before taking any further steps — including court action — to prevent the Act from being implemented.
The DA has strongly opposed clauses four and five of the law, which it argues could erode linguistic diversity in South African schools. Clause 4 gives the department of education, rather than schools, greater control over admissions policy and also compels schools to admit and educate children who might not have the necessary documentation.
Clause 5 states that public schools’ governing bodies must submit the language policy, and any amendment thereof, to the provincial head of department for approval.
These clauses of the Act, signed into law by Ramaphosa in September, have had their implementation delayed by three months to allow for discussions among the parties to try and resolve the impasse. Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, who is a DA deployee, was not present at the signing ceremony.
Khakhau said the DA would allow the three-month period to run its course and, if it was unhappy with the resolution, would take the matter forward.
This comes after a clearing house mechanism meeting last week to offer GNU coalition members a chance to weigh in on the Bela Act and a host of other high-stakes issues, including preparations for South Africa’s G20 presidency and the ongoing challenges of coalition governance at provincial and local levels.
But the political parties said the meeting, hosted by Deputy President Paul Mashatile did not discuss the matter and the DA would wait for the next meeting to raise its problems with the Act as well as the similarly contentious National Health Insurance Act.
The ANC, on the other hand, has framed the Bela Act as part of its larger agenda for educational reform aimed at removing racial and linguistic barriers.
On Sunday, at an ANC national executive committee (NEC) briefing, NEC member Dickson Masemola praised the Bela Act as a “milestone in achieving equal access to quality education”, a message the ANC continues to reiterate as it advocates for the Bill’s broader social and economic goals.
“By standardising school language policies, the Bela will break down barriers and open access for all South Africans,” Masemola said.
“This is about empowering communities and building an inclusive education system. We stand firm in our commitment to transformation,” he said.
Basic Education deputy minister Reginah Mhaule told the same briefing that the Act’s purpose was to protect all South African languages.
“There’s a misconception in the Afrikaner community that the Bela Bill will erase Afrikaans,” Mhaule said. “This bill, in fact, enshrines the right to multilingual education. No language is being sidelined.”
She said there had been weekly discussions between education leaders, lobby group AfriForum and union Solidarity, both of which believe the two clauses will undermine Afrikaans, aimed at addressing their concerns.
“This bill is about creating an inclusive South Africa, not taking anything away from the Afrikaans-speaking community or any other group,” she said.
The DA’s staunch opposition to the Bill has been echoed by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which has criticised the GNU’s policy on other grounds.
In its 100 days in office briefing, IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa, who is also the GNU’s cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister, highlighted that there was tension around the NHI and Bela Acts, but added that the party would not resort to legal avenues.
“We’re committed to working through our differences in the GNU. There are deep divisions in the cabinet but we believe they can be overcome through dialogue,” he said.
The clearing house mechanism, which has only met twice, is already shouldering multiple disputes that could either cement the GNU’s stability — or tear it apart.
Khakhau emphasised that, while the DA respects the GNU’s processes, it will not compromise on issues it believes will harm South African communities.
“The DA stands firm on the need for mother-tongue education and we will pursue all available avenues to protect this right if the GNU process fails,” she said, adding that the DA was exercising its democratic right to “oppose what it would have objected to if it was still in the opposition”.