Committee 'deliberately ignored' parents on BELA Bill, says ACDP's Meshoe

JOHANNESBURG - Organisations opposed to the BELA Bill have taken to the streets in a last-minute bid for government to not interfere with the running of schools. 

In its preamble, the Basic Education Law Amendment (BELA) Bill says it has been introduced to strengthen governance in schools and close loopholes that have challenged the sector. 

The bill seeks to transfer more power to the provincial education departments to regulate school language policies, curriculum and homeschooling, among other things. 

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AfriForum Youth stuck posters on the gates of the education department's offices in Pretoria, with one reading, "Afrikaans schools are our right".

The organisation's spokesperson, Louis Boshoff, said the language policy under the BELA Bill could bring an end to Afrikaans-medium schools.

"We believe the point of contention is often around Afrikaans schools but it affects all mother-tongue language schools in South Africa."

African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) leader, Kenneth Meshoe, who led a protest outside the education department's Johannesburg offices, said the bill could not be passed in its current state. 

"The committee did not take seriously the inputs of the parents, they have deliberately ignored what the parents have said. The parents are not happy with the bill, they want their choice of school for their children to be with them and not government."

While Thursday's vote on the bill has been postponed, the African National Congress (ANC) is pushing to have it signed into law before the sixth administration's time in office expires.