Alcohol at schools bill gets slammed
Clauses conflict with existing regulation in national act
THE DA-led provincial legislature’s own legal counsel has advised against the adoption of the controversial Western Cape Schools Education Amendment Bill that proposes the sale of liquor at schools under certain conditions, warning that it is in conflict with national legislation.
The changes in the bill will mean that schools may permit the sale and consumption of alcohol on public school premises or at school activities.
It also prescribes that pupils found guilty of serious misconduct may be sent to intervention facilities, the Education MEC may establish a school evaluation authority which will independently evaluate schools and develop school evaluation reports, and provision has also been made for the establishment of collaboration schools and donor-funded schools.
But legislature legal adviser Andre le Roux said the clauses in the bill were in conflict with existing regulations contained in the national Schools Act that deal with safety measures at public schools.
He prepared the legal opinion for the standing committee on education.
“The (national) regulations provide that no person may possess or use alcohol during any school activity. The regulations, in the definitions clause, define ‘school activity’ as any educational, cultural, sporting or social activity of the school, within or outside the premises,” Le Roux said.
He said clause 22 of the (provincial) bill, in short, provides for the lawful consumption of alcohol, by a person other than a pupil, at a school activity that is held off school premises.
“Clause 23 of the bill provides for the consumption or sale of alcohol on school premises or at any school activity held on school premises, under certain circumstances. I am not of the view that the conflicts can be reconciled. The conflicting provisions appear fundamentally at odds and are mutually exclusive,” Le Roux said.
National legislation supersedes provincial laws.
Le Roux said: “Either the consumption of alcohol during school activities is absolutely forbidden (as the national
act in its regulations clearly intend), or the consumption of alcohol during school activities is permissible under certain circumstances. It does not appear as though these provisions can coexist, on a reasonable interpretation, without conflict.”
On intervention facilities, Le Roux said: “The powers granted to the MEC is a plenary law making power, and is not structured or guided in a meaningful way. There is no formulation, in respect of intervention facilities, of any meaningful policy and principle parameters, as one would ordinarily find in law.”
Education MEC Debbie Schäfer’s spokesperson Jessica Shelver was on leave yesterday and said she would respond to questions today.
“The MEC is also on a flight and I need comment from her,” Shelver said.
ANC Western Cape education spokesperson Theo Olivier said: “The DA’s attitude towards alcohol and (ab)use thereof is alarming in a province where excessive alcohol abuse is a very serious problem in many poor communities. They will be hardest hit by this irresponsible DA plan.”
DA provincial education spokesperson Basil Kivedo called on residents to voice their concerns at public meeting in Paarl today.
Kivedo, also chairperson of the education standing committee, said the main objectives of the bill were to make provision for goods and services to be centrally procured and to regulate monitoring and support of curriculum delivery at public schools.
The SA Democratic Teachers Union reiterated that the proposed amendments were in contradiction with existing national legislation and were unlikely to improve educational outcomes.