SADTU criticises Bela Act draft regulations, warns it may undermine education reform in South Africa
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) has criticised the draft regulations of the Bela Act.
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The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) has criticised the Bela Act draft regulations issued by the Minister of Basic Education, stating that these regulations are meant to undermine and amend the Act.
The teachers' union expressed concern regarding the regulations that were published by the minister for public comment.
In a statement, the union said, “SADTU reminds the public that the amendments to the Basic Education Laws were informed, among other reasons, by the need to ensure clarity on the roles and responsibilities, create consistency in the admission of learners to public schools, and ensure improved financial and public accountability for governing bodies and provincial departments.”
The trade union said it has taken over 10 years of exhaustive consultations and public participation before Parliament passed the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act.
The union noted that prior to issuing the draft regulations, the Minister issued guidelines that have no legal standing in an attempt to effectively amend the Act through the backdoor.
“When this approach failed, she initiated the process of drafting the regulations. As part of developing regulations, the Minister established Task Teams, and SADTU participated in these Task Teams with other stakeholders to contribute to the process.
“The regulations were to cover eight areas. However, the Minister published draft regulations on only two areas, thereby adopting a piecemeal approach clearly intended to cause confusion. It will be difficult to deal with regulations on a piecemeal basis as they must be aligned and read together.”
After evaluating the draft regulations, SADTU said it had concluded that the Minister remains opposed to BELA and is hellbent on amending the Act using regulations which, in law, are subordinate to the Act.
“Regulations cannot be used to change the text of the Act, impose requirements not provided for in the Act, or undermine the purpose and intent of its provisions,” said the union.
The union further stated that several draft regulations are outside the Minister's powers and encroach on the functional and legal areas of other Ministers.
“The Minister has also made it clear through these draft regulations that she has no regard for the various court judgments dealing with various aspects of the right to basic education. In several instances, the draft regulations do not align with these judgments despite the fact that BELA was drafted to bring the law in line with them.”
SADTU urged the Minister to respect the principle of legality, uphold Constitutional Court rulings, and ensure that the BELA Act is implemented faithfully, in the best interests of learners and in accordance with the Constitution," the union concluded.
Lukhanyo Vangqa, spokesperson for the minister said: “The regulations were vetted by the Office of the Chief State Law Advisor and that office declared the draft regulations to be Constitutionally sound and in line with the BELA Act.”