Commonwealth Teachers Group (CTG) First Edition, March 2025
Basic Education Law Amendment (BELA) Act (Grade R), Go Public! Fund Education Campaign and Cost Containment Measures By Dr. Malau David Matsepe, Head of Research, South African Democratic Teachers Union
The BELA Act sought to amend the South African Schools Act to make school attendance compulsory from Grade R and no longer from Grade 1.
With Treasury cutbacks threatening teacher job cuts countrywide, we believe that BELA Act represents the collective will and desire of the majority to transform South Africa’s basic education system from an apartheid design to a democratic, value-based system that ensures every child’s right to access quality public education. We therefore call on government to invest on education in particular Grade R to deal with functional and foundational skills by sharpening the skills of our children at the early age because no nation can be successful in building an inclusive economy unless you build a very strong foundation for children.
The government has indicated that there will be a reallocation of resources, but there is no new money allocated for the implementation of Grade R.
·We need Grade R, which will be good for the schooling system.
·We believe that the cheapest way to fix the schooling system is to do it early so by the time children are in Grade 3, they can read and be numerate.
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