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13 December 2024 Photo Supplied
Dr Solomon Chibaya
Dr Solomon Chibaya, lecturer in the Department of Education Management, Policy, and Comparative Education, University of the Free State.

Opinion article by Dr Solomon Chibaya, lecturer in the Department of Education Management, Policy, and Comparative Education, University of the Free State.


Friday 13 December 2024 marks a crucial moment in South African education law. All stakeholders are awaiting the decision regarding implementation of the contentious sections 4 and 5 of the Basic Education Amendment Bill. After President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Bill into law, he delayed implementation of the sections on language and admission policies for three months. This was meant to allow for consultation on proposals for resolving the conflicts around the contested sections.

The main issue around the language and admission policies is that the Bela Act allows the provincial heads of departments to have the final say on these policies after the school governing bodies (SGBs) have developed them. Some SGBs see this as their powers being usurped, which contradicts the democratisation of school governance. However, cases in which the powers of SGBs have been abused in ways that led to exclusionary language and admission policies presents the need for oversight of these critical school policies.

Friday 13 December 2024 is the deadline for the resolution.

One cannot avoid thinking about the implications of the different possible outcomes of the decision beyond 13 December. The president could approve the Act without any changes, or clauses 4 and 5 could be returned to the National Assembly for reworking.

If approved

If the Act is to be approved with the two contentious clauses in their current form, there will be a barrage of court cases from opponents of the decision. Over the past few months preceding the signing of the Bela Bill and after it was signed on 13 September 2024, the DA, AfriForum and other lobby groups have promised to take the matter to court. In such a scenario, all parties must prepare themselves for long, vicious and contentious court battles that have enormous implications for the political context defined by the Government of National Unity (GNU).

What will add further fuel to the fire is that at the helm of the department in which the Act is being debated is a DA minister, Minister Siviwe Gwarube. Will she toe the line and follow the law as expected by her office? Or will she follow the direction of her political party, which has been clear about how much it abhors the Act, especially in relation to its current form? She could find herself in the firing line.

If approved in its current form, beyond 13 December 2024, the Act will appease proponents who have been clear about their support for it. Proponents of the Bela Act, such as the ANC (which has been campaigning for it to be embraced by all), SADTU (which on countless matches in support of the Act and have even threatened the president with litigation if they do not get their way), and other political parties like the EFF and the MK Party will be vilified. Considering this, the country’s polarisation is apparent and is a potential and real threat to the GNU/coalition.

If sent back

The DA, AfriForum, and other lobby groups, especially those who want clauses 4 and 5 overhauled, will celebrate, but only for a moment. At least they can battle against the Act’s current form in the National Assembly. Rather than the rigour and expenses surrounding litigation, the different sides must now use their different lawmakers to make a case for them.

The results from the last votes on the BELAB held on 16 May 2024 showed that 223 votes were in favour of and 78 votes against the bill. If these results are anything to go by, there is little change the National Assembly would make to the Act. It will boil down to votes, and the scale will be lopsided. We will be heading for litigation and threats.

At the centre of this is the child whose best interest we are supposed to looking out for. Beyond Friday 13 December 2024, our focus will move away from the child to the National Assembly, the courtrooms, the never-say-no law firms. All eyes will be on the political space. 

News Archive

Recognition from the United Nations and MACE
2013-11-22

 
The University of the Free State received Excellence and Merit awards for its communication and marketing projects.
From the left is Leatitia Pienaar, editor of Bult magazine, Lacea Loader, Director Strategic Communication, Leonie Bolleurs, editor of Dumela and Ilze Bakkes, UFS Marketer: Publications and Broadcast.
Photo: Sonia Small

The University of the Free State (UFS) was this week recognised by the United Nations (UN), as well as the national association for Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE), for its communication and marketing publications and campaigns.

The UFS was named by representatives of the UN to receive a special United Nations Award for a leadership communication campaign called ‘Talk to me’. The award, which forms part of the Golden Awards of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), is made annually to the campaign that best supports human development in line with the UN objectives.

The UFS also received seven awards from MACE during the Higher and Further Education Excellence Awards. The ‘Talk to me’ campaign was awarded an Excellence Award in the category integrated campaigns and projects; a television campaign on DSTV received an Excellence Award in the broadcasting category. The campaign also received an award as the overall winner in this category. The magazine Bult received a special Excellence Award in the category external publications (as the publication with the highest marks in the history of this award ceremony); the staff newsletter Dumela and a set of student recruitment publications each received a Merit Award in the categories internal newsletters and special publications respectively; and the Open Day campaign received a Merit Award in the category integrated campaigns and projects.

The Excellence Awards form part of the 2013 national MACE congress, which was hosted by the UFS on the Bloemfontein Campus from 18-20 November 2013 and attended by 139 delegates from 25 higher and further education institutions.

“I am extremely proud of the achievements of what is emerging as a truly world-class communications department at the UFS recognised increasingly for achievements nationally and abroad,” says Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS.

‘Talk to me’, which was implemented in 2010, is a leadership communication campaign that creates a way for staff and students to engage with Prof Jansen. With the campaign, he regularly spends time physically sitting on the university’s three campuses in a predetermined area giving staff and students the opportunity to talk and interact with him. The success of the campaign stems from the fact that it gives him the opportunity to pick up on issues or concerns of the campus community.

“The ‘Talk to me’ campaign is one of the key campaigns of the university’s Human Project, as it projects the scholarship of service and transformation leadership. It is an exceptional honour to be recognised by the UN and to receive this award,” says Lacea Loader, Director: Strategic Communication at the UFS.

“The MACE Higher and Further Education Excellence Awards provide an excellent platform to showcase the many projects and campaigns of the sector, and to receive this kind of recognition from our peers is a tremendous honour for the UFS,” says Loader.


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