The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) is calling on Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube to resign after opposing the signing of the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill into law, by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa has officially signed the BELA Bill into law on Friday, however, he said the implementation of the Bill will be delayed for three months for further conversations around ‘problematic’ clauses.
Sadtu said it was unacceptable that Gwarube did not attend the signing ceremony of the bill.
The union’s secretary general Mugwena Maluleke said Gwarube’s opposition indicates that the DA will now run its own separate Cabinet within the government of national unity.
“This is the beginning of where the minister will then be instructed by Helen Zille (DA’s federal chairperson) not to be part of this particular signing, because Zille is another pseudo president of our country,” he said in an interview with eNCA.
Maluleke labelled Gwarube’s actions as unacceptable and demanded Ramaphosa to take action against her.
When asked how the union is going to approach the implementation of the bill, while Gwarube is at the helm of the education ministry he said:
“The ball is in the minister's court to decide and make the work of the president very easy by terminating her resignation.
“She will not be able to operate in an environment where she has two bosses, one being Zille and another one being Ramaphosa, because the act is now law and has to be implemented,” said Maluleke.
Maluleke has called on Gwarube to immediately decide whether she will implement the bill or tender her resignation.
Speaking at the signing on Friday, Ramaphosa said the signing of this Bill marked an important step towards resolving long-standing challenges in the country’s education system.
“This means that all people should have equal opportunity to access education, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or physical or mental impairment. This means that primary education should be free and compulsory. Education must be the instrument through which we uplift our nation," Ramaphosa said.
He said to allow for cooperation and meaningful engagement, he had decided to delay the implementation date for clauses 4 and 5 of the Bill by three months.
“This will give the parties time to deliberate on these issues and make proposals on how the different views may be accommodated. Should the parties not be able to agree on an approach, then we will proceed with the implementation of these parts of the Bill,” Ramaphosa said.
Gwarube announced before the signing that she would not attend Ramaphosa’s signing ceremony.
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.
“Parliament must be allowed to fix what is currently wrong with the Bill so that millions of learners across the country can access and receive quality education for a better South Africa.
“In the context of a GNU, it is essential that compromises reflect the people's will,” she said.
“That is why I have been engaged with the president on this matter. We must consider the objections to the Bill and ensure that it is rectified to avoid protracted and costly legal action.”
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