08 August 2025
SADTU notes the gazetting of Bela Act draft regulations
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) notes the gazetting of two sets of draft regulations under the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (BELA ACT) by the Minister of Basic Education for public comment.
These regulations pertain to the admission of learners to ordinary public schools and norms and standards for capacity of ordinary public schools.
In June this year, the Minister released guidelines for the implementation of the BELA Act, a move that SADTU strongly rejected as the Act does not empower the Minister to issue implementation guidelines. The Minister is only allowed to make regulations.
SADTU viewed the issuing of guidelines as an attempt to sow confusion, delay the implementation of the Act and advance the DA’s political agenda against the full implementation of Sections 4 and 5.
SADTU will exercise extreme vigilance to ensure that the regulations align strictly with the letter and spirit of the BELA Act. The Union is committed to safeguarding the constitutional right of every learner to access quality education and will oppose any provisions that could
undermine this right.
The Union is currently studying the draft regulations and will submit formal comments on or before the deadline of 05 September 2025 as per the Basic Minister’s invitation.
ISSUED BY: SADTU Secretariat