Experts critique the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act for missing key opportunities to address systemic issues in education. With concerns over implementation and funding, the Act's impact remains uncertain. Muhammad Hussain sits down with Fedsas' Dr Jaco Deacon and Professor Brahm Fleisch from the Wits School of Education to discuss concerns over the Act.
One of the most urgent and important gaps after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill is the Act's implementation date.
According to Clause 54 of the Act, the amendments will only come into operation "on a date fixed by the president by proclamation in the gazette".
Dr Jaco Deacon of the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (Fedsas), an organisation of school governing bodies, says that even though Ramaphosa signed the Bill into an Act last week, and it was published on Monday, "there is no proclamation on when it will come into effect".
An implementation date is important because schools and officials must wait until that date to implement the laws set out in the BELA Act.
Another concern for Deacon is the practical and financial details of implementing the provisions.
Grade R and nutrition funding
Since Grade R has been made compulsory, there is a need to know when that provision will come into force as he believes "the system is definitely not ready to implement" this clause. This is because the cost associated with enforcing this will be huge, and it cannot be rolled out in phases as "the right to education is immediately realisable". Meaning that all provinces will have to immediately ensure all Grade R pupils are enrolled once a date is known.
As more pupils enter schools through Grade R, the funding issue is further compounded.
The National School Nutrition Programme, which has a budget of R9.7 billion for 2024/2025, has been marred with corruption and tender disputes in various provinces. In Gauteng, a R1-billion tender dispute is ongoing, in KZN suppliers want to sue the provincial education department over non-payment and nationally, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has halted a centralised R10 billion tender amid corruption concerns.
Across South Africa, more than 9.5 million children depend on this food programme.
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With more children entering the system, more money will be needed to provide basic food to pupils, Deacon says.
"There's no disagreement that it will be to the benefit of the child that we introduce Grade R [as compulsory]. But I know the biggest issue will be the funding of that phase."
Deacon also highlights the funding challenges related to teaching posts. Many provinces are struggling to fund teachers compensation, with some considering cutting posts.
He hopes that the proclamation, which needs to happen before 30 September to meet statutory provisions for schools to plan for the next financial year, may clarify these outstanding financial details.
These details may also include more information on the three-month suspension of clauses 4 and 5 - which are related to admissions and language policy. Deacon's reading is that the three months only start from the date of proclamation and not signing.
'BELA will not help learners read'
Professor Brahm Fleisch from the Wits School of Education adds that the BELA does not address the core issues in the education sector.
More than seven out of every 10 South African pupils (76%) at Grade 4 level can't understand what they read in any language. In 2022, 1 575 unqualified and underqualified teachers were identified in public schools.
These findings indicate an education sector in crisis with Fleisch and Deacon adamant that the Act will not improve the country's state of education.
Deacon says:
BELA will not help our learners read better.
"The BELA Act largely addresses issues on the periphery," Fleisch says. As much as the new provisions seek to codify and regulate matters like homeschooling and SGBs (school governing bodies), legislation itself will not address the systemic issues in the education sector.
These issues include quality teaching and trained teachers, increase in pupils, consequence management for underperforming schools and principals, and enforcement of education provisions.
What will address these issues are focused, coherent leadership, and importantly, to follow an evidence-based approach to implementation, says Fleisch.
"The national department has a very strong research directorate and, over the last 10 years, has done very rigorous and internationally renowned research," Fleisch says.
He adds:
The national department and the provincial department needs to take seriously their own research and incorporate it into strategies.
Fleisch doesn't expect the BELA Act to have a major impact on South Africa's journey to better education, but he does see it as a contribution to that journey.
Potential for corruption
Deacon says that Clause 14 of the Act , to provide for a centralised procurement of educational material, is also a major concern.
Provincial heads of department, in consultation with the SGB, will have a large say from where public schools can procure goods and services related to teaching and learning.
Deacon says:
This creates a massive opportunity for fraud, corruption and abuse.
"Though the economy of scale makes sense in the business world, we've seen and heard from the likes of the Zondo Commission that our government is not geared with all the checks and balances to procure and protect citizens against abuse properly," Deacon adds.
He wants the minister and president to strongly reconsider that clause because "we will bleed money in the education sector" if it is implemented without restraint.
Provincial officials, in whom there is not much trust, will have a lot of power over procurement and if they overstep, Deacon says that there will be a lot of legal challenges to follow.
Rushed Bill
Fleisch says that some of the lessons learnt during the Covid-19 pandemic about the experiences from parents, teachers and pupils was that physical schools were important in the educational system for learning, socialising and structure.
But Deacon is not convinced that many of these lessons were taken on in the BELA Act.
"I think we've missed an opportunity [with this Act] to deal with electronic meetings, learning and decision-making, as well as distance learning. It should have been incorporated into this Act, but the ill was rushed through".
He says a new legislative process will have to be undertaken because "we still have a one-size-fits-all model that's not really working for us, and that's not sufficiently addressed in the Act."
Both Deacon and Fleisch have reiterated that a strengthening of relations between departments, schools and other stakeholders is critical to ensure the amendments improve the system.
Also read in this week's Friday Briefing:
PIETER DU TOIT writes the fears of many parents about the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment Act are justified. But the DA should be careful about joining forces with groups running their own nationalist project.
ELIJAH MHLANGA argues the BELA Act reflects South Africa's aspiration for a more inclusive, equitable and efficient basic education system. It addresses key challenges that have, for years, hindered the progress of our education ecosystem.
QAANITAH HUNTER writes that we are making more out of government of national unity's public spat over the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill than is necessary.
