On Friday, 13 September 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Bela Bill into law. This decision has elicited considerable outrage from the United Independent Movement and numerous parents, particularly given the numerous objections raised during the deliberation process.

In light of these objections, the President has postponed the full implementation of the BELA Bill to facilitate consultations regarding two specific clauses.

We wish to articulate our firm objections to these clauses and urge President Ramaphosa to reconsider their provisions for the following reasons:

1. It is imperative that all children commence their education only with proper documentation. Allowing exceptions undermines the integrity of the educational system.The current pass rate stands at 30%. Thus, we cannot endorse a policy that permits children to leave school at the age of 15 or upon completing Grade 9. Such a measure would adversely impact the intellectual development of our youth, who are classified as children until they reach the age of 18. We insist that all students complete at least Grade 12 before being allowed to exit the educational system.
   We oppose any governmental regulation concerning the language of instruction in schools. Parents enroll their children in institutions that offer education in their mother tongue, and we will not consent to any policies that compromise this foundation or transition to dual-medium instruction against our wishes.

We respectfully urge a thorough reconsideration of these clauses, as they have profound implications for our children’s educational rights and future.

 

www.uimsa.org​

info@uimsa.org

 

The admissions and language clauses state (as per the Bel Bill):

"Amendment of section 5 of Act 84 of 1996, as amended by section 2 of Act 50 of 2002

4. Section 5 of the South African Schools Act, 1996, is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution for subsection (1) of the following subsection:

‘‘(1) A public school must admit, and provide education to, learners

and must serve their educational requirements for the duration of their

school attendance without unfairly discriminating in any way.’’;

(b) by the insertion after subsection (1) of the following subsections:

‘‘(1A) Any learner whose parent or guardian has not provided any

required documents, whether of the learner or such adult person acting

on behalf of the learner, during the application for admission, shall

nonetheless be allowed to attend school.

(1B) The principal of the school must advise the parent or guardian to

secure the required documents.’’;

(c) by the substitution in subsection (4) for paragraph (a) of the following

paragraph:

‘‘(a) The admission age of a learner to a public school to grade R is age

four turning five by 30 June in the year of admission: Provided that,

if a school has limited capacity for admission in grade R, preference

must be given to learners who are subject to compulsory

attendance.’’;

(d) by the substitution for subsection (5) of the following subsection:

‘‘(5) Subject to this Act and any applicable provincial law, the

admission policy of a public school is determined by the governing body

of such school in line with the Constitution and relevant legislation:

Provided that—

(a) the governing body, when considering the admission policy or any

amendment thereof for approval, must be satisfied that the policy or

the amendment thereof takes into account the needs, in general, of

the broader community in the education district in which the public

school is situated, and must take into account factors including, but

not limited to—

(i) the best interests of the child, with emphasis on equality as

provided for in section 9 of the Constitution, and equity;

(ii) whether there are other schools in the community that are

accessible to learners;

(iii) the available resources of the school and the efficient and

effective use of state resources; and

(iv) the space available at the school for learners; and

(b) the Head of Department, after consultation with the governing body

of the school, has the final authority, subject to subsection (9), to

admit a learner to a public school; and

(c) the governing body must review the admission policy determined in

terms of this section every three years or whenever the factors

referred to in paragraph (a) have changed when circumstances so

require, or at the request of the Head of Department.’’;

(e) by the substitution for subsection (9) of the following subsection:

‘‘(9) Any learner or parent of a learner who has been refused

admission to a public school may appeal against the decision to the

Member of the Executive Council within 14 days of receiving the

notification of the refusal of admission to the public school.’’; and

(f) by the addition of the following subsections:

‘‘(10) If an appeal contemplated in subsection (9) has been received,

the Member of the Executive Council must, within 14 days after

receiving such an appeal, consider and decide on the matter and inform

the learner or the parent of the learner of the outcome of the appeal.

(11) If the governing body is not satisfied with the decision of the Head

of Department as contemplated in subsection (5)(b), the governing body

may appeal against the decision to the Member of the Executive Council

within 14 days after receiving the decision of the Head of Department.

(12) If an appeal contemplated in subsection (11) has been received,

the Member of the Executive Council must, within 14 days after

receiving such appeal, consider and decide on the matter and inform the

governing body of the outcome of the appeal.

(13) While the Member of the Executive Council considers the appeal,

the admission policy shall remain valid and applicable, and only the

provisions that are the subject of the appeal shall be suspended pending

the finalisation of the appeal process.’’."