Secretary-general of the African National Congress (ANC) Fikile Mbalula on Friday criticised Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube who snubbed President Cyril Ramaphosas signing of the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill into law.
Earlier on Friday, IOL reported that Gwarube, a leading member of the Democratic Alliance (DA) , had indicated that she would not attend the hyped signing ceremony of the legislation which she vehemently opposes.
I have taken note of President Cyril Ramaphosa's anticipated signing of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill. I have always, and remain opposed to the Bill in its current form and have requested the president to refer it back to Parliament for reconsideration in terms of section 79 of the Constitution. I have also provided inputs on why this should be done, said Gwarube.
She said she has raised salient issues around the Bill, including the constitutionality of provisions on the implementation of admissions and language policies determined by the governing bodies of public schools, and the need for a phased approach to implementing Grade R as a compulsory and permanent feature of the basic education system, based on the capacity of provincial education departments, public schools, and early childhood development centres to offer access to Grade R to all learners who require it.
Reacting to the snub, Mbalula said Gwarube had been left with no options by her party.
