The following remarks were delivered by DA Federal Leader John Steenhuisen MP, at today’s mass march against the BELA Act in Pretoria:
The DA has long opposed Clauses 4 and 5 of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (BELA). In simple terms, these clauses give the state too much control over who gets an education at any particular school, and in what language.
The constitution is clear, everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice.
These hard-fought rights enshrined in our constitution cannot simply be given away at the stroke of a pen.
Schools, through their governing bodies, are able to make decisions which reflect the needs of parents and the local communities. We cannot allow this authority to be handed over to an official in a provincial office, far from the needs and wants of community members.
Protection of mother-tongue education is critical.
Imagine trying to learn maths or science in a language which is not your home language, or which you don’t understand. We will never allow that.
Clause 4 and 5 of the BELA Act give too much authority to provincial governments, and take away too much of our democratic rights as parents. They pose a massive risk to the beautiful diversity of culture and language in South Africa.
We need to focus on improving the standard of education in our schools across the board, rather than micro-managing language and admissions policies.
If we are to produce learners who are ready to be employed, they need compassionate, committed teachers. Children need to be taught wherever is most convenient for them to go to school. That is not the state’s decision.
Our children are our future. Our aspirations of growth, jobs and a prosperous life for all hinge on a society filled with capable and capacitated youth.
All our policies will fail if we do not safeguard them first.
On a Wingsuit and a Prayer
Lord Nikon
Oscar Pistorius. Not the first South African with a race problem.
Sandbox
Van is getting married, but he and his fiancee have never done the deed – in fact he\’s never been with any woman before. He\’s getting more and more nervous as the big day approaches, so he confides in his friend. His friend says \’No worries man. I\’ll come by the honeymoon suite before you guys get there, and I\’ll hide behind the curtain, and I\’ll whisper instructions to you.\’
\’You\’d do that for me?\’
\’Sure thing man!\’
So the wedding day arrives, it was a lovely service (so I was told, I wasn\’t there myself) and Van\’s friend sneaks into the honeymoon suite as promised and hides behind the curtain.
Van and his new wife arrive in the room, get settled on the bed, and things are getting steamy.
But Van is still super nervous and his tummy is bubbling, so he murmers to his wife, \’Listen babe, I\’m just gonna go to the bathroom quick. I think it\’s that wors roll from earlier.\’
\’Sure thing babe.\’
So Van goes into the bathroom, and he\’s taking quite a long time. And his wife is starting to feel the nerves herself. And it\’s getting worse. She can\’t hold it in. But she doesn\’t want to go after he\’s gone and totally ruin the mood. So she looks around and finally finds a shoebox. Quickly, she does her business in the shoebox, and she shoves it under the bed just as Van comes back from the loo.
Van gets back on the bed and they go at it again. But after a minute or so Van smells something not so lekker.
\’What\’s that smell?\’
\’Nothing babe,\’ he wife tries to assure him.
\’No man there\’s definitely something not so lekker in this room!\’VSo Van starts looking around the room, in the corners, in the cupboard, and finally he looks under the bed, and sees the shoebox.
He pull it out, and opens it up, and in horror he shouts \’Sies! Daar\’s kak in hierdie doos!\’
And from behind the curtain his friend yells, \’NEE MAN, DRAAI HAAR OM!\”