The homeschooling parents are heavily objecting the BELA Bill Photo Pexels
South Africa – The BELA Bill, officially known as the Basic Education Law Amendments Bill, has raised significant concerns among homeschoolers in South Africa. It is aimed at amending the South African Schools Act of 1996 and the Employment of Educators Act of 1998. While the idea is to align homeschooling communities with the developments in education, it has not been received very well by the community.
The BELA Bill was initiated in 2012, and the draft was released in 2017. The bill proposes changes to the South African Schools Act, which directly impact homeschooling. While some changes such as compulsory grade-R, abolishing corporal punishment were supported, others regarding home schooling were outright rejected, said Neeresh Badal who is a member of the Gauteng Association for homeschooling and a homeschooling parent.
“We are concerned with some of the amendments being made. Forcing parents to register for homeschooling and those who do not register could be criminalised and could be imprisoned for up to 12 months. Then there’s also forced visitation by the Department of Education as well as the implementation of the CAPS curriculum to parents which indirectly will create opportunities for the Department of Education to force comprehensive sex education once CAPS curriculum becomes implemented or compulsory.”
These proposed changes would significantly interfere with the autonomy of homeschooling and impose restrictions on parents’ freedom to choose the best education for their children.
Shirley Erwee, a homeschooling mother of six and author of two books on home education, emphasised that parents who choose home education are deeply invested in their children’s success. Over 20 years of experience have shown that homeschooling graduates thrive in further studies, the workplace, and the world at large.
“The issue is the government feels that there needs to be a measure of oversight over home education. That states and governments around the world are obligated to ensure that the rights of all children to receive basic education are realised. This is where the conflict comes in. Parents are the best positioned and legally empowered to watch over the best interests of the children. We feel that we need to start over and negotiate how this needs to happen.”
Erwee suggested, that a system based on parental notification rather than seeking permission would be a more suitable approach to gather data on home-educated children. Many other organisations agree with this.
BELA Bill impact on the homeschooling environment
The proposed changes in the BELA Bill aim to bring homeschooling under the purview of the government’s education department, potentially disrupting the autonomy homeschoolers have enjoyed thus far. Homeschooling has thrived due to its independence from the traditional education system, explained Badal.
“When you take away the freedom of parents to choose how they homeschool, you start infringing on their rights. Parents know what is best for their kids and every parent wants to provide the best possible opportunities for their children, especially in education. When we start tampering with that, and when kids who are not able to perform in traditional schools are actually excelling in homeschooling, why do we want to disrupt their learning?”
Furthermore, Erwee pointed out many families homeschool their kids because they do not believe in the moral system taught in schools. Everybody has their own ideology and religious views which the government also has, which is “humanism”.
“For anybody who has a different world view or a different religious preference, there’s going to be a conflict of interest there. Some parents are happy. They send their children to state schools and then they counter that by teaching their own beliefs at home, but some parents want the children’s education to be from the get-go, in the way that they believe is best for their children. That’s a choice that is protected by the constitution. Many people feel that this requirement to have children assessed every three years by a registered teacher is going to mean that parents are going to be forced to teach to the test. They are going to be forced to comply with the CAPS curriculum and anything that they find objectionable, is going to be forced on them. So, they take issue with that.”
The BELA Bill has sparked concerns among homeschoolers in South Africa, who fear the erosion of their autonomy and freedom to choose the best education for their children. Homeschooling parents are deeply committed to their children’s success and believe that parental oversight, rather than government interference, is the key to providing that.
Julie Alli in a discussion with Neeresh Badal and Shirley Erwee delved into the BELA Bill. From homeschooling parents’ outrage to the impact on oversight and School Governing Bodies, language and admission policies, and the uncertain future of the bill. Listen to the informative discussion here:
