Sadtu doubts full Bela Act will be implemented by Gwarube
The South African Democratic Teachers Union in KZN doubts that Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube will facilitate the full implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act.
It says it holds this view, especially after Gwarube's party, the DA, participated in last week's march in Pretoria against two clauses in the BELA Act.
When the president signed the bill nearly two months ago, he put the implementation of Clauses 4 and 5, which deal with language and admission policies, on hold for three months.
At a briefing in Durban on Tuesday, SADTU KZN slammed Gwarube's decision not to attend the signing ceremony in September as disrespectful.
Gwarube wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa before the ceremony, explaining that she wouldn't attend as she remains opposed to the bill in its current form.
READ: SADTU calls on Ramaphosa to implement full BELA Bill
She believes it should be referred back to Parliament to reconsider the two clauses.
Last week, some SADTU members who participated in the Presidential Imbizo in Umgababa held up placards in silent protest when it was Gwarube's turn to respond to issues raised.
The union's provincial spokesperson, Nomarashiya Caluza, said they did not want to be addressed by the minister.
"Why are we not standing up as a collective of people who stand to benefit from the full implementation of the Bela Bill? We are saying for us to respect the minister she must respect the president. We don't care if the president is comfortable with being disrespected, but not on our watch."
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