Portfolio committee raises concerns as challenges arise during implementation of Bela Act

These include a shortfalls in funding, infrastructure and capacity of provincial education departments as well as delays in finalising the regulations. Members of the basic education portfolio committee have raised concerns regarding several challenges affecting the successful implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act. These include a shortfalls in funding, infrastructure and capacity of provincial education departments as well as delays in finalising the regulations. Committee requests The Act makes Grade R compulsory and provides for changes to school admissions and language policies, among other things. Following a department of Basic Education (DBE) briefing yesterday on the implementation of the Bela Act, the portfolio committee requested a detailed list of schools that have not yet completed reviews of their admission and language policies, along with reasons for these outstanding reviews. Committee chair Joy Maimela acknowledged the department’s progress in helping school governing bodies to review their admissions and language policies. Incomplete reviews She said the committee wants to establish where and why reviews remain incomplete. “We are not satisfied that there are still a considerable number of schools that have not finalised the process of reviewing their admission and language policies,” Maimela added. “This is a critical time when parents are applying for admission for their children, and if these admission and language policies are not reviewed and are not aligned to the current tenets of the legislation, parents may be prejudiced by the previous policies,” she said. More than 11 000 outstanding reviews According to the department, 11 715 admission-policy reviews and 11 657 language-policy reviews remained outstanding. Maimela said provincial totals alone were not enough for committee members to understand the circumstances at individual schools or assess whether outstanding matters are being addressed. “We need to understand what is preventing the completion of the reviews and what support or intervention is required,” she added. ‘Realistic timelines’ The committee requested clear and realistic timelines for implementation, noting in addition to admissions and language policy reviews, schools must also review their codes of conduct to incorporate the amendments to the South African Schools Act. These include provisions dealing with hairstyles, religious beliefs, corporal punishment and other matters affecting pupils’ rights. “You cannot, therefore, suggest that the implementation of the amended provisions of the South African Schools Act should be an open-ended programme. That is not acceptable,” Maimela added. Stipends v salaries Regarding the roll-out of Grade R, committee members raised concerns about the shortage of classrooms, issues relating to practitioners’ qualifications, differences in employment arrangements across provinces and the funding needed to improve conditions of service. The department reported seven provinces appointed Grade R practitioners who receive stipends, while Mpumalanga and North West appointed educators who receive salaries. Limpopo was the only province that currently includes Grade R in its post-provisioning model. ‘Why such large gaps?’ The committee heard that the post-provisioning review is continuing, and a draft policy is expected this month. According to the DBE, the long-term objective is to incorporate Grade R posts fully into provincial educator post-provisioning arrangements. “Why would the national department of basic education allow such large gaps to develop between provinces in their progress with Grade R provision?” Maimela asked. Finalisation expectation She also expressed the committee’s dissatisfaction with the pace of finalising the Bela regulations. “The pace is not satisfactory, and we are not happy with it. The department needs to improve,” Maimela said. “The next time we call the department to account for progress, we will expect the regulations to have been finalised,” Maimela added.