DA: BELA Bill will destroy quality education
The Democratic Alliance maintains the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill will cripple the country's public education system.
If it becomes law, the so-called BELA Bill will give heads of provincial education departments authority over schools' language and admission policies.
The bill also proposes changes to the compulsory school-starting age and penalties for parents whose children are not in school.
The DA led a protest against the bill at Parliament ahead of its tabling on Thursday afternoon.
Party federal chairperson Helen Zille addressed the marchers, saying the ANC has destroyed education in South Africa.
"The DA stands up for mother tongue education where parents want it. Stop trying to get equality by destroying the quality of the system. You can never reach equality by destroying quality.
"The only thing you can do to achieve equality with quality is to build the capacity and improve the standards of education, and for a change, serve the learners and not your trade union partners."
