Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane has rejected an agreement that basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube reached with Solidarity at Nedlac last week regarding the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act. 

Chiloane said the agreement proposed, among other things, that “sections 4(d), 4(f), and 5(c) of the Bela Act should not be implemented until national policies, regulations and norms and standards are developed. Furthermore, sections 4 and 5 are to be introduced on a phased basis, subject to these developments.”

The sections, the implementation of which President Cyril Ramaphosa delayed when he signed the Bela Act into law three months ago, deal with language and admission policies in state schools. The three-month period for parties to finalise agreements on the sections ends on December 13.

On Sunday, Ramaphosa told the media that should there be no agreement among parties, this would not stop the commencement of the Bela Act.

“In the end as the president, I signed the bill into law and I have given three months for solutions to be found. The solutions have to be credible and everyone has to buy into the solutions. My resolve in having given people an opportunity to find solutions should never be abused. It should never be diverted, it should never be downplayed,” Ramaphosa said.

Chiloane said he was concerned the Nedlac agreement effectively “ring-fences” certain state schools for the exclusive use of specific societal groups.

He said the agreement also suggested that provincial heads of departments must seek permission from, or consult, school governing bodies (SGBs) to change a school’s language policy or to administer pupil admissions.

“This approach, the MEC asserts, will enable SGBs to block transformation efforts. It might also allow some single-medium schools to resist introducing additional languages, even when local demographics dictates inclusivity to accommodate learners residing in the same area,” Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona said.

Chiloane described the agreement as a thinly veiled attempt to preserve culture at the expense of transformation.

He said national and provincial spheres of government have concurrent legislative competence in accordance with the constitution.

Implementation of the two sections was subsequently suspended for three months for consultations of two clauses. Chiloane said Gwarube was expected to work with the provincial departments in implementing the Bela Act.

“It is our view that the approach adopted by the minister is against the constitutional principles, that of engaging the provinces for matters of concurrent powers.

“In our opinion, the clauses that have been put on hold allow for sufficient consultation and adequately follows due processes with regards to admissions and language,” Mabona said.

Chiloane raised concerns about Gwarube making public statements and agreements that implicated provincial heads of departments and MECs without prior consultation, describing this as foreign to a sector that thrived on collaboration and consensus for effective governance.

“MEC Chiloane called for a more inclusive and consultative approach to addressing the transformation challenges in education, ensuring that the interests of all South Africans are considered in shaping the future of the sector,” Mabona said.