By Johnathan Paoli
Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane has announced his rejection of the recent agreement signed between Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube and Solidarity concerning certain provisions of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act.
In a statement on Friday, the MEC called for a more inclusive and consultative approach to addressing the transformation challenges in education, ensuring that the interests of all South Africans were considered in shaping the future of the sector.
“This bilateral agreement entered into by the minister, the National Economic Development and Labour Council and Solidarity, represents the minority and as such undermines what was intended by the President,” he said in a statement on Friday.
Chiloane said the agreement to introduce Sections 4(d), 4(f) and 5(c) on a phased basis was made undemocraticall,y and expressed concern over the possibility of effectively isolating certain public schools for the exclusive use of specific societal groups.
Additionally, he questioned the recommendation that Heads of Departments (HoDs) must seek the permission of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) to change a school’s language policy or to administer learner admissions.
This could enable SGBs to block attempts at transformation, the MEC contended, allowing certain single-medium schools to resist introducing additional languages, even when local demographics dictated inclusivity.
The MEC said that it remained paramount to note that the national and provincial spheres of government have concurrent legislative competence in accordance with Schedule 4 of the Constitution, in terms of Sections 43 and 44 of the Constitution.
“It is our view that the approach adopted by the minister is against the constitutional principles, that of engaging the provinces for matters of concurrent powers. In our opinion, the clauses that have been put on hold allow for sufficient consultation and adequately follow due processes with regards to admissions and language,” Chiloane said.
He raised concerns about Gwarube making public statements and agreements that implicated provincial HoDs and MECs without prior consultation, describing this approach as foreign to a sector that thrived on collaboration and consensus for effective governance.
His rejection comes on the heels of the call made by the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union, who called on MECs to publicly declare their commitment to transformation.
Meanwhile, the African National Congress has welcomed the Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s clarification of the processes surrounding the legislation.
Party spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said it was important that all parties within the Government of National Unity uphold the principles of integrity, transparency and collective decision-making.
“The ANC strongly condemns attempts by the Democratic Alliance (DA) to bypass established processes in a desperate effort to perpetuate apartheid-era standards in our education system,” Bhengu-Motsiri said.
Gwarube is a member of the DA.
She said her party was committed to ensuring collaboration and the transformation of the country for the benefit of all South Africans.
Afrikaans unions and advocacy groups are opposed to two sections in the Act that grant provincial education departments to power to override SGB decisions in certain circumstances, such as directing schools to adopt additional languages of instruction or change their admissions policies.
INSIDE EDUCATION
