By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has approved and passed the amended Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, with eight of the nine provinces voting in favour of the changes.
The NCOP considered the bill on Tuesday (14 May) after deferring the bill last week on a technicality.
The passed bill, the amended D-bill, was adopted by all provinces except the Western Cape.
The BELA Bill proposes several changes to the South African Schools Act, including transferring control to the Education Department to determine a school’s language policies and curriculums.
The bill dictates that Grade R will now be the new compulsory school-starting age, and parents who fail to enrol their children for Grade R will be formally penalised.
Some amendments include penalties for those found guilty of corporal punishment – which is illegal at schools.
In terms of language policy, the bill provides that a school governing body will now be required to submit a public school’s language policy and any amendment thereof to the head of the Education Department for approval.
The language policy must also consider the language needs of the broader community.
Sign Language will also become an official language for learning at a public school.
The BELA Bill also bans the consumption or possession of alcohol on public school premises or during any public school activity unless permission has been sought from the Head of Department, and then only under strict conditions.
In terms of South Africa’s legislative processes, the bill will now head back to the National Assembly for further processing, with a debate scheduled for Thursday, 16 May.
The D-Bill will be reviewed by the NA’s Committee on Basic Education and then head to the NA House for a vote.
Should the National Assembly ratify the amended version, the Bill will then be sent to the president for assent.
However, this is unlikely to happen with the current administration, as Parlimanet has announced the sixth administration will be wrapping up its duties this week, and any outstanding matters will be dealt with by the seventh administration after the elections.