The Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill was not too long ago accepted from the South African Parliament and is particularly now just waiting around to generally be signed into law via the President.
The Act will introduce important alterations to the South African Schools Act plus the Employment of Educators Act to better align with modern academic needs and problems.
Critical provisions from the BELA Bill include things like:
Compulsory Grade R: The Bill can make it mandatory for kids to start out school at Grade R, with official penalties for folks who fail to enroll their young children.
Corporal Punishment: The Bill reinforces the ban on more info corporal punishment and prohibits other varieties of punishment that may belittle learners.
Language Policy: School governing bodies (SGBs) will continue to determine the language policy of schools, but these policies must be approved by the head of the education department. This aims to ensure that language policies do not discriminate and are inclusive.
Learner Pregnancy: Contrary to some public misconceptions, the Bill does not give schools control over a learner’s decision regarding abortion. It does, however, address the management of learner pregnancies in schools.