President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill into law today. With the backlash he received from the DA and Afriforum over Clauses 4 and 5 of the Bill, Ramaphosa has delayed the implementation of the clauses by three months to give parties in the Government of National Unity to further engage on those sections of the Bill.

POLITICAL PARTIES TO DELIBERATE ON LANGUAGE AND ADMISSION POLICIES

During his speech before signing the Bill at the Union Buildings today, Ramaphosa acknowledged that there has been much debate about this Bill with different views expressed. "In the last few days, the parties in the Government of National Unity have expressed their wish to further engage each other on sections of the Bill that deal with issues of admission and language," the President said. He added that in the spirit of cooperation and meaningful engagement, he has decided to delay the implementation date for clauses 4 and 5 of the Bill by three months. Clause 4 of the BELA Bill states that a school's governing body (SGB) has the authority to determine the admissions policy, but it must comply with the national and provincial education laws and the Constitution. The SGB needs to submit the policy to the Head of Department for approval. Clause 5 of the Bill says the SGB must submit the language policy of a public school and any amendment thereof to the Head of Department for approval. "This will give the parties time to deliberate on these issues and make proposals on how the different views may be accommodated. Should the parties not be able to agree on an approach, then we will proceed with the implementation of these parts of the Bill,' the President said.

DA TAKING THE MATTER TO COURT

After Ramaphosa signed the Bill, DA released a statement to say they have instructed their lawyers to prepare for court action on both the process leading to the adoption of the BELA Bill, as well as its substance, on constitutional grounds. "We note President Ramaphosa's statement that the implementation date of its most controversial clauses will be postponed for three months for further discussion. However, we also note the President's comment that should the parties not be able to agree on an approach, then we will proceed with the implementation of these parts of the Bill. This means that if there is no agreement, the ANC will proceed with implementing the clauses that empower provincial departments to over-ride school governing bodies on the issue of the language policy of schools," the statement said. The party said they reject this and regard Ramaphosa's approach as contrary to the spirit of the Statement of Intent that formed the foundation of the GNU. "If the President is serious about seeking a solution that will protect the constitutional right to mother tongue education, we welcome his announcement of a three-month delay in the implementation of Clauses 4 and 5 of the Bill. If this is just a delaying tactic to defuse opposition before implementing the clauses at a later point, then we will continue to fight this Bill with everything we have got, including in the courts," the statement read.