PRETORIA – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a contentious education bill into law on September 13, a move that has ignited significant controversy and strained relations within his coalition government.
The new legislation, part of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, grants the education department the authority to approve school boards’ language policies. The African National Congress (ANC), led by Ramaphosa, argues that this measure will help combat discrimination by ensuring that language is not used as a tool for racial exclusion. Afrikaans, a language promoted during the apartheid era by South Africa’s white minority rulers, is at the center of this debate.
“The signing of this bill marks an important step towards resolving longstanding challenges in our education system,” Ramaphosa stated during the ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), a key coalition partner and a party often associated with South Africa’s white minority, has expressed strong opposition to the bill. The DA contends that the bill undermines the principle of consensus in the government of national unity and could jeopardize the coalition. The party has announced plans to challenge the legislation in court, citing concerns that it might exclude students who do not speak Afrikaans, a concern that the DA argues contradicts the ethos of inclusive education.
Professor Andre Duvenhage from North-West University explained that the legislation aims to open up Afrikaans-medium schools to a broader demographic, potentially mitigating past exclusions linked to the language. In addition to addressing language policies, the BELA Bill mandates one year of pre-primary education, reinforces the ban on corporal punishment in schools, and introduces regulations for home-schooling.
Ramaphosa has allowed for three months of consultation on the most controversial aspects of the bill, promising to review the feedback before full implementation. Meanwhile, the DA remains committed to its legal challenge against the new law.