S. Africa makes education compulsory

It is now a crime for parents or guardians to not send a child to school in South Africa as the country takes a step to improve the education sector with new legislation.

This comes after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) bill into law on Friday. The new legislation criminalizes anyone who disrupts school activities with a maximum sentence of 12 months. In the past, community protests used to disrupt school activities. BELA law prohibits corporal punishment in schools including non-physical forms of punishment that undermine a child's dignity. After publicly signing the bill into law, Ramaphosa said the new legislation seeks to strengthen governance within South Africa's education sector.

"The Bill is part of the state's ongoing efforts to build an education system that is more effective and more equitable. The law that we are signing today further opens the doors of learning. It lays a firm foundation for learning from an early age. Grade R, the reception year before Grade 1, will now be compulsory. This will enhance our focus on early childhood development.  It will ensure young children are better prepared for formal schooling," said Ramaphosa. 

He explained that the government had made progress in making education accessible to many and the new law seeks to correct some of the challenges in the system. The BELA law gives schools an obligation to respect cultural and religious beliefs and gives learners the right to seek exemption in certain activities. The government is trying to ensure that education is inclusive, said Ramaphosa.

He said, "The law requires schools to apply the same standards for the admission of learners. It seeks to ensure uniformity and fairness in educational standards across all schools. To improve safety in the learning environment, the legislation reinforces the ban on corporal punishment. It introduces stronger penalties for those who administer corporal punishment. The legislation introduces financial and public accountability frameworks for school governing bodies." 

This legislation gives the minister of basic education the right to regulate the registration and administration of home education. The department head is required to conduct site visits before registering home education. Under the new law, there must be independent assessments of home-schooled children's progress to ensure they receive a quality education.

Mugwena Maluleke, general secretary of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) welcomed the new legislation as one of the initiatives to improve the education sector in the country.

He said, "We believe this is the right step in the right direction to transform the education system. We have been fighting for a long time for Grade R to be critically formalized. We have been fighting for the democratization of education and this legislation gives dignity to the people," said Maluleke.

He welcomed the abolishment of corporal punishment. The teachers made submissions during the public hearings on the bill and are aware of what BELA requires, said Maluleke. He explained that they will hold face-to-face or virtual workshops with teachers to raise awareness and familiarize themselves (teachers) with the new legislation.

Mary Metcalfe, visiting adjunct professor at the University of the Witwatersrand said there is a need for additional infrastructure and teaching personnel required for Grade R. The national treasury has estimated the annual costs of Grade R teacher salaries to be about $944 million which is 5 percent of the annual allocation of the basic education, said Metcalf.  She said education is now compulsory from the years a child turns six years old.

She said, "This will mean that South Africa will now have 10 years of compulsory education from Grade R to Grade 9. The concept of ‘compulsory education' is important here because, as a public good that is enforced, this not only has implications for parents – but also for the state because the has the obligation to ensure that all children can access public schooling in the official language of their choice where this is reasonably practical (as required by Section 29(2) of the Constitution."

Metcalfe explained that the Constitution specifies that all educational alternatives must be considered including equity, practicability and the need to redress the results of past discriminatory laws and practices.

Maluleke said the Department of Basic Education should hold some awareness campaigns to inform the parents or guardians about the new regulations.