President attempts to appease DA on new education legislation

By Simon Nare

President Cyril Ramaphosa bent backwards for the Democratic Alliance when signing the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, delaying clauses that speak to school admissions and language policy.

While signing the Bill into law at the Union Buildings on Friday, he said he was delaying implementation of clauses 4 and 5 to allow consultations with parties within the Government of National Unity who are opposed to those clauses.

They have been given three months to find a solution.

“In the spirit of cooperation and meaningful engagement, I have decided to delay the implementation date for clauses 4 and 5 of the Bill by three months. This will give the parties time to deliberate on these issues and make proposals on how the different views may be accommodated,” said Ramaphosa.

But he stressed that should the parties opposed to the Bill not find a way forward, then the government