Cosatu says no to criminalising school disruption
Proposed penalties for school disruptions criticised
Labour federation Cosatu, which counts SA’s biggest teachers’ union among its members, has urged parliament to scrap provisions in the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill that criminalise disruption of schools. Parliament’s basic education committee has been hearing oral submissions on the bill, which contains wide-ranging reforms that include a ban on any disruption to schooling. The bill makes it an offence to “interrupt, disturb or hinder any school activity”, with penalties that include a fine or up to 12 months in prison.
Labour federation Cosatu, which counts SA’s biggest teachers’ union among its members, has urged parliament to scrap provisions in the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill that criminalise disruption of schools.
Parliament’s basic education committee has been hearing oral submissions on the bill, which contains wide-ranging reforms that include a ban on any disruption to schooling. The bill makes it an offence to “interrupt, disturb or hinder any school activity”, with penalties that include a fine or up to 12 months in prison. This includes teachers and pupils.
“This definition of school disruptions is too broad, unconstitutional and will effectively criminalise teachers and education workers for exercising their constitutional and legal rights to picket, protest and strike,” Cosatu said in its submission.
“Such a ban won’t pass constitutional muster and will be challenged in the Constitutional Court if not removed by parliament from the bill.”
The SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu), which represents 26,400 of SA’s 400,000 teachers, said people who disrupted schooling should be penalised, but the bill went too far. The bill should specifically exclude educators or union members who had embarked on a protected strike, it said.
“There are sufficient existing laws pertaining to criminal conduct and violent protests, and (this) should not be the legislative tool where such activities are dealt with,” it said in its presentation to the committee.
Cosatu’s parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks said the organisation was opposed to the bill’s provisions allowing schools to sell alcohol on their premises as part of their fundraising activities, as it sent the wrong message to teenagers and had the potential to fuel violence and trauma. Many school governing bodies supported alcohol sales on the premises, as they raised funds by renting out school properties for functions such as weddings, he said.
“Whilst there is a place for the responsible consumption of liquor in society, school is not that place,” he said. “Young people are particularly susceptible to alcohol and binge drinking. If we are serious about tackling alcohol abuse, then parliament must remove the provisions allowing alcohol sales at schools,” he said.
Parks said the bill’s provisions extending compulsory schooling from grade 1 to grade R should be taken a step further, and extended from grade 9 to grade 12. A large number of learners dropped out of school after grade 9, without the skills required by the labour market, and are condemned to lowpaying jobs with few prospects, he said.
The growing pool of workers with limited education was hampering economic growth, he said. Learners should be required to stay in school until grade 12, or pursue courses at technical and vocational education training colleges.