EXPLAINER: BELA Bill gets thumbs up in Parliament - but what is it all about?

CAPE TOWN - The much talked about Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill or BELA BILL is now well on its way to becoming a law.

After years of debate, amendments and tweaking by both houses of Parliament, the final version of the BELA BILL was finally voted on by the National Assembly.

The voting saw no abstentions, with 78 MPs voting "no" and 223 voting in support of the bill.

But what are some of the contentious clauses and amendments in the legislation?

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Firstly, the BELA Bill's main objective is to amend the South African Schools Act and the Employment of Educators Act to bring them in line with the changing basic education landscape.

The bill also seeks to address the challenges that have hindered the education system for years in relation to infrastructure, administration and misconduct of learners and teachers. 

GRADE R

Amongst the key amendments in the BELA Bill that has sparked much public interest and input during public hearings, is the provision to make Grade R the new compulsory school-starting age.

The bill further states that parents who fail to enroll their children for Grade R will be formally penalised.

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

Another highly debated provision was the further confirmation that corporal punishment is no longer allowed at school and that those found guilty of such offences be penalised. This section of the bill also states how other non-physical forms of punishment that could "belittle" a learner are prohibited.

LANGUAGE POLICY

On language policy, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) made a few amendments before they were confirmed by the National Assembly on Thursday.

In the new amendments, the NCOP proposed that the school governing bodies (SGBs) must have powers to decide on the language policy of a public school or any amendments thereof. But these must be sent to the head of department for approval.

LEARNER PREGNANCY

Those opposed to the bill, like the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) had labelled it the "abortion bill" because of how it regulates learner pregnancies.

But that's not the case, according to the bill, which refers to learner pregnancy.

Organisation, Section 27, which has made submissions on the bill, states that according to Section 61 of The South African Schools Act, the BELA Bill does not empower teachers or school officials to participate in a learner’s decision regarding abortion. It says the reference to "learner pregnancy" in the BELA Bill is unrelated to abortion.

HOMESCHOOLING

In what is referred to as "home education", the bill states that if the parent of a learner who chooses to educate the learner at home, such parent must apply to the head of department for the learner's registration to receive homeschooling.  

The bill further states that the head of department must approve the learner's application and register the learner. Parents who choose to homeschool their children will still have the right to determine what to teach them as long as it's considered acceptable. 

PARTY REACTION

The African National Congress (ANC) was not alone in supporting the bill and was joined by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

But parties like the Democratic Alliance (DA), Freedom Front Plus and ACDP voted against the bill, with some even threatening legal action.

ACDP MP Marie Sukers said the bill also overregulated homeschooling.

"Tens of thousands of South Africans came to the public hearings on the BELA Bill, home school moms, with their children around them, quoting international legal treaties," said Sukers.

The DA's basic education spokesperson, Baxolile Nodada, accused the ANC of bulldozing and bullying through the NCOP amendments and the bill.

"Instead of engaging in meaningful discussions about the widespread implications of the bill and the changes made by the National Council of Provinces, the ANC chairperson refused to follow parliamentary protocol and denied opposing parties' right to include thorough inputs to the changes," said Nodada.

It will now be up to President Cyril Ramaphosa to either sign the bill into law or refer it back to Parliament if it doesn’t meet constitutional muster.