Ramaphosa, Gwarube face legal action over BELA Act
President Cyril Ramaphosa and Basic Education
Minister Siviwe Gwarube have been served with legal letters over two
contentious clauses in the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act.
Solidarity, AfriForum and the Solidarity Support Centre for Schools have launched legal action over the sections on language and admissions policies.
They say Ramaphosa and Gwarube have ten days to resolve the dispute of face being dragged to court.
The president authorised the implementation of the Act in its entirety in December, after a three-month delay for consultations on the clauses lapsed.
In a statement, the three organisations under the Solidarity Movement say Ramaphosa acted irrationally and contrary to agreements reached with Gwarube when he made the decision.
READ: Gwarube: BELA Act ready, system must catch up
The group's Kallie Kriel says they had agreed with the minister and the Presidency that the full implementation would be on hold due to the absence of norms and standards.
"The president's promulgation of the Bela Act in full, as well as the minister of education signing it, is an act of aggression against mother tongue education, specifically in Afrikaans schools and children," says Kriel.
"Firstly, we will take legal action with regard to the promulgation. We believe it is irrational… it cannot be implemented if there are no relevant norms and standards in place."
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