Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to send the Bela bill back to Parliament and for it to be amended. Picture: Timothy Bernard/Independent Newspapers
Three teacher unions are at odds with the DA over the delays in the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (Bela Bill) being signed into law.
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to send the Bela bill back to Parliament and for it to be amended, while the unions – the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), National Teachers’ Union (Natu) and National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) – are in support of the bill in its current form.
The bill seeks to amend key education laws in South Africa and has sparked controversy and drawn criticism from various quarters.
Sadtu KZN secretary Nomarashiya Caluza said the bill had gone through all the necessary processes and was even passed in Parliament in May.
Natu’s general secretary Doctor Ngema said the union is fully behind the bill while Thirona Moodley, KZN provincial CEO of Naptosa, also said they are in favour of the bill.
“The bill has gone through all the necessary structures for it to be where it is; it has gone through two public consultations.
“The bill was passed in Parliament by 223 votes against 78. We are now saying it is not right for the new minister to say the bill must be sent back to Parliament.
“It has already gone through that process, the only thing left is for the president to sign it into law, and we believe that the president will do the right thing and sign it,” Caluza said.
Ngema said there are more than 40 clauses in the bill and a lot of them make sense.
“If you read the bill, you actually see that there are things that are correct, like the issue of making grade R compulsory for all pupils, and the issue of teaching in vernacular languages, that is also vital,” said Ngema.
Sakhile Mngadi, DA KZN spokesperson on Education, said the party will not change its stance when it comes to the Bela bill. Unless there are certain amendments, the party still opposes the bill.
“Our stance is still the same. We do not accept the bill and never will, unless there are amendments. We have seen how Sadtu has been pushing for this and it is quite sad because they are now operating like a political party, and if they threaten to protest over this, then they are the DA’s enemy number one,” Mngadi
The Mercury