Johnathan Paoli
In Addition to the growing voices against the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (Bela Bill), the ACDP on Thursday opposed a motion of desirability in its final day of deliberations before the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, concerning the introduction of the contentious bill.
Three main clauses were of particular significance to resistance against the bill, namely clause 27 which deals with the merger and closure of small schools; clause 37 which deals with homeschooling; and clause 41 which grants the Minister more authority over the policy regarding learner pregnancy.
In terms of clause 37, due to the apparent lack of knowledge concerning homeschoolers, calls were made to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) for a comprehensive Social Environmental Impact Assessment to be undertaken, that is specifically focused on homeschooling.
“What is however clear is that the number of consultations cited did little to improve the Department’s own understanding of homeschoolers – if consultations were effective, a proposal that would satisfy both stakeholders could have been developed and included in this Bill,” African Christian Democratic Party MP Marie Suker said.
In addition, Suker said that the explicit mention of countries in which homeschooling has been outlawed by the Parliamentary Legal Services, during deliberations had the effect of shaming the alternative form of education and instilled fears that the state is clearly attempting to curb the amount of homeschoolers through stricter controls and making it financially unsustainable.
In terms of clause 27, the ACDP held that in order to effectively combat the poverty and inequality of South Africa, the government should be strengthening the funding of rural education programmes in order to keep small schools open.
The granting of Ministerial authority to intervene in terms of learner pregnancy (clause 41) clearly goes against the ACDP grain in light of their ardent support of the right of parents as well as school governing bodies (SGBs) to determine how their children should be educated, in other words, keeping the door open for a conservative control over pubescent bodily autonomy and reproductive health.
“The implementation of clause 27 would escalate the closure of hundreds of schools in rural communities across the country leading to emotional alienation, and anxiety in children who, at a very young age, must go to hostels far from their communities,” Suker said.
In conclusion, the ACDP said that the bill would overload the state with even more financial and bureaucratic responsibilities, effectively creating a bloated system and called for the introduction of stipends to SGBs in order to more adequately support and maintain what is trying to be achieved at a grassroots level.
INSIDE EDUCATION
