The National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA (Naptosa) KZN said they support the signing of the Bela Bill.
Naptosa said the bill has travelled a long road, more than 10 years, with extensive consultation and input from all stakeholders
Naptosa KZN CEO Thirona Moodley said that the bill attempts to update the South African Schools Act (Sasa) as well as the Employment of Educators Act.
“Development in the sector through the courts and particular events that took place in the schools makes it necessary to update legislation. Naptosa was consulted and gave extensive input on the bill.The bill is transformative and gives clarity to sections in Sasa that have been disputed in the courts. It protects the rights of learners by giving access to education without discrimination.”
Moodley added that the bill, now the act, allows stricter control of school governing bodies, greater accountability, and transparency. “SGBs are also now given more freedom in certain respects to govern without approval of the HOD or the MEC, allowing the smooth functionality of the school.
“The president signed the bill, deferring two clauses: Clause 4, which relates to the admissions policy and Clause 5, the language policy. These clauses have always been contentious clauses in the bill. The president has given three months for these clauses to be finalised. Schools have used language policies and admissions policies to keep certain learners out of schools.”
Moodley said that the implementation of the language policy will have implications for staff in schools, particularly because current teachers may not be fluent in the language of choice.
“The implementation of compulsory Grade R must be acknowledged as a step in the right direction. This sector has been ignored for far too long to the detriment of our learners. The challenge with the implementation of compulsory Grade R will come with financial implications to the DBE (Department of Basic Education).”
Moodley said that the department is already financially stretched and Naptosa “must be optimistic that the DBE has a plan to fund compulsory Grade R in our schools”. Importantly, the act holds parents accountable for enrolling their children in the formal schooling sector and the regulated home-schooling. There is also greater accountability expected from schools regarding learner attendance.
“Naptosa will continue to monitor the implementation of the act and hold the DBE accountable. We do expect challenges with the implementation, however, Naptosa will protect the rights of the learners and education personnel, and we will contribute to being part of the solution.”
The Mercury