Federation of School Governing Bodies willing to make BELA act work despite concerns

The Weekend View

President Cyril Ramaphosa YESTERDAY officially signed the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) policy into law. The BELA Bill, as it was previously known, makes changes to the South African Schools Act of 1996. The act introduces new regulations around schools in South Africa, most notably in relation to compulsory schooling from Grade R, language policies and curriculums, and prohibition of corporal punishment and initiation practices, to mention a few. The changes include making the provincial education department responsible for school language policies, criminalising parental negligence in school attendance, and accommodating religion in school codes of conduct. Critics of the new law argue that the BELA undermines the authority of school governing bodies (SGBs) and centralises decision-making power. For their reaction, Bongiwe Zwane spoke to the CEO of the Federation of School Governing Bodies, Dr Jaco Deacon and Cathrine Sutherland, Legal Researcher at Equal Education j