The implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela Act) is driven by an intention to target and diminish the language of Afrikaans, so says trade union Solidarity.
Werner Human, operations head of the Solidarity, said a false narrative has been peddled, insinuating that public Afrikaans schools are acting contrary to the Schools Act.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorized the full implementation of Bela on Friday after he had set aside for consultations and engagement on two sections of the new law.
“That has been a false narrative that has been peddled especially in Gauteng and the narrative is that our schools, public Afrikaans schools are acting contrary to the Constitution, contrary to the Schools Act and that has not been the case,” Human said in an interview with broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
“We have only two languages that have fully been developed for language of teaching and learning in this country and that is English and Afrikaans. When other political parties speak about all the different languages and everyone will have access to these languages of teaching and learning, that is not really the case.”
He said in the spirit of the Constitution, South Africa cannot diminish a single language – Afrikaans, thereby establishing the English hegemony around the country.
“We say Afrikaans … we take up less than five percent in public schools but we are being made in Gauteng as the 100 percent of the problem. That is not the case. The correct approach is not to diminish a language, like Afrikaans, which has been developed to where it is now,” said Human.
He said there were no exclusively white schools in Gauteng or elsewhere in South Africa.
“We are saying those who want to push this Bill (Bela Act) which is a political Bill in our view, do so with the view of diminishing Afrikaans, hiding and overshadowing their own shortcomings in the past administration,” said Human.
He said the development of other languages like isiZulu has been “very limited”.
On Saturday, ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula saluted Ramaphosa for promulgating the entire Bela Act, despite the vociferous opposition.
During a media briefing on Saturday, Mbalula said there was no compromise in the implementation of the full Bela Act as pronounced by Ramaphosa on Friday.
“There is no win-win situation. We put the Bela Act for three months for engagement, that is what we did. The Act has come to full cycle in terms of the law. We did that in the spirit of the GNU, to engage with partners, and we are part and parcel of that. Henceforth, we want to thank everybody who took part in that particular process.
“It is not a compromise to say the minister must determine the norms and standards for language policy. South Africa’s Schools Act of 1996 provides for this. It is a standard practice. It is not something that cannot be done.
“If the minister does not implement decisions of government, in government, which have come full cycle in terms of the law there will be consequences for that. We do not think that we will get to that stage,” said Mbalula.
IOL