Treat education bill with care

THE BASIC Education Laws Amendment Bill has been met with stiff opposition by several stakeholders involved in the running of our schools. It seeks to strip school governing bodies (SGBs) of all decision-making powers such as admission of pupils, language of tuition and appointment of senior teaching staff.

Those against the bill describe it as “school capture”, while its proponents argue that SGBs are ill-equipped to make critical decisions on the running of schools. With the deadline for public comment looming, education stakeholders have drawn a petition that has received more than 25 000 signatures. They are calling for Parliament to ensure the bill never sees the light of day.

Whichever way you look at it, the issues are complex and should be approached with caution.

The Department of Basic Education has paid millions of rand in legal fees as schools challenged the high-level appointments in court.

For the department, the passing of the bill would put paid to that scenario. Under the bill, the head of department would have the final say.

However, the SGBs have also put forward a compelling argument that the governing body knows the school best. They argue that they know school needs better than someone sitting in the department’s offices. When looking at the two arguments, it is clear that the warring factions need to find some common ground.

To be frank, the department is not targeting township or rural schools – it has its sights on former Model C schools that operate with a certain degree of autonomy.

Over the years, these schools have built impressive financial reserves through school fees, and the lion’s share of the staff are paid by the governing body.

The department has often accused former Model C schools of using fees and language policy to determine the number of black pupils they admit.

All the issues have to be dealt with delicately to avoid litigation and protests. Pushing a bill through Parliament is, unfortunately, not the way to go about it.