The Bela Act takes effect, with President Ramaphosa pledging equal access to quality education for all South African children.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation on the appointment of the new national executive of the 7th Democratic Administration held at the Union Buildings, in Pretoria. Picture: GCIS
The President announced on Friday afternoon that he has instructed Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube to see to the full implementation of the Bela Act.“Let us ensure that our children get the best education so that they can take our beautiful country and our diverse nation forward to a prosperous future,” he said in a statement on Friday afternoon.
The President affirmed that the constitution grants every person the right to receive education in their chosen official language, where reasonably practicable.“This is a right that applies equally to an English speaker as it does to a Zulu speaker. It applies equally to someone who speaks Afrikaans as it does to someone who speaks Xitsonga, Sesotho, Sepedi, isiXhosa, Setswana, Tshivenda, isiNdebele, or siSwati,” he said.
The President said that the parties agreed in their final report that the Bela Act should not be sent back to Parliament for amendments to the contested sections.“The GNU clearing house participants agreed that the Act be fully implemented,” Ramaphosa said.
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