South Africa’s president approves controversial education legislation, challenging alliance

In the midst of a discussion on the integration of schools that teach in Afrikaans, the president of South Africa enacted controversial education legislation into law on Friday, which has infuriated his party’s primary coalition partner.

One provision of the bill grants the education department the authority to license language policies of school boards, a measure that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) believes will effectively combat discrimination.

The ANC asserts that certain schools are excluding pupils based on their language, which it claims has been used as a substitute for racial exclusion. Afrikaans was advanced by the white minority rulers of South Africa during the apartheid era.

“The enactment of this legislation signifies a significant stride in addressing enduring issues in our education system,” Ramaphosa stated during the signing ceremony held at the Union Buildings, the administrative center in the capital city of Pretoria.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), a coalition partner noted for its challenges in dispelling its reputation as a party representing the white minority, has advocated for single-language schools, emphasizing the need of teaching students in their native language.

Prior to the signing, it pledged to challenge the legislative measures through legal proceedings. A statement made earlier this week indicated that the measure violated the idea of consensus-building of the government of national unity and posed a threat to the coalition.

In an interview with Reuters, Andre Duvenhage, a politics professor at North-West University, said that the main issue is around the use of Afrikaans as a language of teaching, which is perceived as an effort to marginalize individuals who lack proficiency in Afrikaans.

“The legislation can be seen as an endeavor to inclusively provide access to these schools for all individuals,” he stated to Reuters.

Furthermore, the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill mandates one year of pre-primary school, strengthens a prohibition on corporal punishment in schools, and governs home-schooling.

In his statement, Ramaphosa expressed his willingness to grant a three-month period for consultation on the most contentious aspects of the bill. If a resolution is not achieved, the implementation will proceed. DA announced its intention to continue its legal action.