As South Africans continue to debate the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act which was signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings in September, AfriForum Youth said they will be marching to the offices of Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi – an outspoken proponent of the new law.
According to Louis Boshoff, spokesperson for AfriForum Youth, the protest will happen on Thursday in Johannesburg.
“The statistics make it clear – Bela will not offer a solution to Gauteng’s education crisis. On the contrary, it will only punish Afrikaans schools for the failures of Gauteng’s Department of Education and this provincial department’s former MEC, Panyaza Lesufi,” said Boshoff.
“This is the message that AfriForum Youth will convey on Thursday, when representatives of the youth organisation will hand over statistics about the dwindling number of schools in Gauteng to the premier’s office in protest against Bela.”
Apart from the memorandum of grievances from AfriForum Youth, Boshoff added that Lesufi will also receive a calculator.
“In addition, AfriForum Youth will also hand over a calculator to the premier’s office so that the premier, as a proponent of the implementation of the two Bela sections regarding schools’ admission and language policies that have been postponed for three months, can calculate the figures himself.
“The most striking statistic that AfriForum Youth wants to bring to the premier’s attention is the fact that, despite an increase of nearly 300,000 learners in the province, there are currently nine fewer schools in Gauteng than 10 years ago,” said Boshoff.
He added that the gathering at Lesufi’s office seeks to raise awareness of the “day of protest against Bela”, which will take place on November 5 in Pretoria.
In September, IOL reported that the Democratic Alliance insisted that everything should be done to save the Government of National Unity (GNU), which hit some turbulence, when Ramaphosa signed the Bela Bill into law.
The Bela Bill amends sections of the South African Schools Act of 1996 (SASA) and the Employment of Educators Act, 1998 (EEA) to account for developments in the education landscape since the enactment of the original legislation.
Teacher unions have welcomed the signing of the new law, despite the rumblings from some Government of National Unity partners, who have threatened legal action should Ramaphosa sign.
Ramaphosa signed the Bela Bill amid pomp and fanfare at the Union Buildings but delayed by three months the implementation of two of its clauses dealing with admission and language, pending consultation.
IOL