News
Bela bill: South Africans face jail if children not in school
South Africa’s parliament has passed a major education bill that could see parents face prison if their children are not in school.
Under the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela), they could be jailed for up to 12 months if their children are truant, or if they are not enrolled when they reach school age. Bela also introduces a ban on corporal punishment in all schools.
It is the biggest education overhaul since the end of apartheid in 1994.
The governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), says the bill will “transform our education system, to address historical and present challenges”. However, the biggest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has condemned it, saying it gives the state too much control over schools and will lead to the collapse of education. It led a protest during the vote and has threatened to take the government to the constitutional court if it becomes law.
The ANC has a huge majority in parliament and the bill was backed by 223 MPs, with just 83 against, on Thursday.
Earlier this year a study found that 8 out of 10 South African school children struggle to read by the age of 10.
(BBC)
Considering the resolution furnished by the Minister of Health and Mass Media, the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to appoint R.A.P. K. Jayaratne, the most senior officer of the Printing Service, currently serving as Deputy Government Printer in the Department of Government Printing and holding a Class I, Grade II position in the Printing Service, to perform the duties of the post of Government Printer with effect from 02.04.2026.
With the objective of ensuring the continuous education of schoolgirls, the program to provide sanitary napkins to schoolgirls who have attained puberty is planned to be implemented this year as well, covering approximately 1.05 million schoolgirls across all government schools from Grade 6 and above, as well as schoolgirls who have attained puberty in government-assisted special schools.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Prime Minister, in her capacity as the Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education, to implement the programme for the provision of sanitary napkins to schoolgirls in the year 2026.
Each schoolgirl will be provided with two gift vouchers valued at Rs. 720 each, amounting to Rs. 1,440 per schoolgirl annually, so that they can either purchase 12 packs containing 8 sanitary napkins priced at Rs. 120 per pack, or 8 packs containing 10 sanitary napkins priced at Rs. 120 per pack can be based on individual preference.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution
furnished by the Prime Minister in her capacity as the Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education to implement the project for the development of sports grounds in 400 schools over a 4-year period (2026-2029) covering all 25 districts, with one national school and 3 provincial schools at an estimated cost of Rs. 2010.50 million.
Out of the 10,096 schools currently operating in the country, it has been confirmed that only 5% possess sports grounds of standard dimension and accordingly the need has been identified to establish at least one standard sports ground with a 400-meter running track within each education zone to ensure equal opportunities for students to engage in sports.
R.A.P. K. Jayaratne appointed to the post of Government Printer
Implementation of the programme for the provision of sanitary napkins to schoolgirls
Development of sports grounds in Government Schools
Master Plan for the Civil Aviation Services in Sri Lanka
Implementation of Loan Scheme for the Development of Young Entrepreneurs in the Agricultural and Industrial Sectors
Appointment of National Steering Committee for Education Reforms
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