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A recent article by HeadHub.co.uk on “30 Arguments Against a Register for Home Educators” confirmed that the struggles home educators face in South Africa are not unique to us. Cape Home Educators (CHE) are in favour of notification, and this article helps explain why.

The majority of reasons are directly applicable to the South African context. We can copy and paste them into our documents. Some need further exploration to make it applicable to South Africa as the laws and examples differ.

This is my attempt to put the UK document into a South African context.

The 1^st reason against a home education register is that a parent should not have to ask permission to perform their legal responsibilities. Section 7 of the UK Education Act 1996 provides that “The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable (a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and (b) to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.”

The South African Schools Act of 1996 differs in that it states a parent must cause a child to attend school – thus, compulsory school attendance. It does not mention “to receive education”. The responsibility of a parent to educate their child is dealt with in the Children’s Act. Under the definitions in The Children’s Act 38 of 2005, care by the care-giver includes “guiding, directing and securing the child’s education and upbringing…”

South African parents should also not have to ask permission to perform their legal responsibility.

I can see home education families nod their heads in agreement with reasons 2- 8. I feel I should high-light points 5 and 16 regarding notification. I fully agree with the author that notification will provide the data government needs. Furthermore, notification treats home education parents with respect. The premise of registration is that parents are ill-equipped to educate their children, whereas notification implies a measure of trust.

I will adapt reason 9 to the South African context. The BELA Bill proposes that the parent of a home educated learner must convince the Head of Department that they (the parent) “understand what home education entails” and that they “accept responsibility for the implementation of home education.” The decision to home educate is not made lightly. Parents weigh up risks and benefits, they ask for information and assistance. They join social media support groups long before they start their home education journey. They know what home education is and are fully aware of the responsibility it carries.
A further requirement in BELA Bill is that parents must convince the Head of Department that they are acting in the best interest of their child. How will a government official, who has never met my child, be able to decide what is in his best interest? Frankly, I find these 2 requirements condescending and disrespectful.

Reason 10 is applicable with a few South African examples thrown in. Business Tech reported on 22 September 2021, “’South Africa needs to significantly overhaul its education system, with the matric certificate ‘not worth the paper it is printed on’, says Dr Thabi Leoka” and “…the current education system is not fit for purpose to provide school leavers the necessary skills.”  

An opinion piece by Ofentse Morwane published in The Saturday Star on 22 May 2021 states that schools are not safe places and that children are exposed to violence and abuse – both physical and sexual. Research conducted by Dr Shuti Steph Khumalo¹ in 2019 gives worrying statistics.

Reason 11 and 13 go hand-in-hand. Home educators in the Western Cape are also not in favour of registration. CHE conducted a survey among home educators in the Western Cape in August 2021². 94.1% of the respondents indicated that they are uncomfortable with registration that requires approval from a government official. 75% indicated that they would be willing to register their children if the process was not subject to approval. Home educators in the Western Cape are in favour of a notification process.

CHE has met with the Western Cape Education Department for a series of meetings in 2021. Progress was made and we feel that the officials have a better understanding of the true nature of home education, but no changes have been made to the registration requirement as proposed in the BELA Bill. Our interactions with government have been less than satisfactory and it feels as if consultation with home educators is simply a box that needs to be ticked.

Reasons 14 – 18 again receives a nod of the head. Reason 19 is applicable to the UK but is still a point we have in common. CHE and Learn Free have submitted research to the DBE and the WCED on several occasions in the past 6-7 years. It appears that the research was not used when drafting legislation and policy.

Parents will agree with reasons 21 and 30. We do not want strangers or government officials to interview our children without our consent.

Reasons 22 – 25. The BELA Bill requires that home educated learners be assessed annually by a competent assessor (not the parent, unless the parent is a registered teacher) and the reports must be submitted to the Head of Department at the end of each phase. What will happen with the reports is an open question. BELA Bill gives no indication.

The DBE says it is concerned about the quality of education a home educated learner receives. I can put their minds to rest. The schools need more attention than home education families do. In the CHE survey 90,8% of the respondents indicated that they home educate in order to give their child an individualised quality education.

South Africa performed exceptionally poorly in the PIRLS literacy survey conducted in 2016³ placing last among the 50 countries who participated. An article⁴ published in January 2019 by UCT shares the following information: “Research shows that in 2008 only 60% of the cohort of pupils who had started grade 1 twelve years previously actually wrote their matric exams – and of those, only 37% passed.” And “KwaZulu-Natal has been the hardest hit, according to Metcalfe. In that province only 45.4% of pupils have their own reading textbooks and 50.1% have their own maths textbooks. Similarly, in the Eastern Cape, only 56.2% of pupils have their own reading textbooks and 57.2% have their own maths textbooks. Limpopo is marginally better; 58.9% of pupils have their own reading textbooks while 62.4% have their own maths textbooks.”

The PIRLS survey also found that children whose parents read to them and help with homework performed better in reading tests.

A research summary by Christina Clark⁵ states: “The evidence about the benefits of parents being involved in their children’s education in general, and their children’s literacy activities in particular, is overwhelming.” She also states: “Success in reading is a gateway to success in other academic areas as well.”

An article in the Conversation⁶ cites research⁷ conducted in Australia that shows that home educated learners often get better test results and have more degrees than their peers. The summary of the research paper states: “We conclude that the crucial factor for fostering academic success is a structured approach that intermixes a high level of parental input along with guided instruction across meaningful learning experiences.”

Home education parents who follow a non-institutional approach are fully involved in the education of their children. They did not pass the responsibility on to a third party.

And for the last time I see some heads nodding in agreement with reasons 26-29.

Anelle Burger
CHE Chairperson

1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335790010_IMPLICATIONS_OF_SCHOOL_VIOLENCE_IN_SOUTH_AFRICA_ON_SOCIALLY_JUST_EDUCATION/link/5d7b59c0a6fdcc2f0f603b47/download
2. https://www.capehomeed.co.za/bela-bill-survey-results/
3. https://www.up.ac.za/research-matters/article/2801832/ten-year-study-shows-south-african-school-reading-literacy-is-slow-to-improve
4. https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2019-01-11-solving-sas-literacy-crisis
5. Why it is important to involve parents in their children’s literacy development – a brief research summary by Christina Clark, National Literacy Trust; https://theconversation.com/south-africas-reading-crisis-focus-on-the-root-cause-not-the-peripherals-96129
6. https://theconversation.com/homeschooled-students-often-get-better-test-results-and-have-more-degrees-than-their-peers-111986
7. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118926895.ch5

Cape Home Educators (CHE) and representatives from Liberty in Learning, Pestalozzi Trust, other home education associations, curriculum providers and interested individuals met with Mr. Deon Louw from the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) on 7 October 2021.

The meeting was called by Mr. Louw and is in preparation for the establishment of a Joint Liaison Committee (JLC). The purpose, objectives, and participants of the JLC is still under discussion.

At the meeting Mr. Louw gave a short presentation on the current laws and policies (both national and provincial) that govern the registration of learners for home education. He explained the process, spoke about the people involved and tried to provide clarity on issues such as curriculum choice, home visits, and a suitable learning environment.

The presentation and subsequent discussion high-lighted the need for legislation that is in-line with the practice of home education. In the last 20 years home education has evolved, and innovative methods of child-centered education has arisen and gained ground. Legislation did not keep pace and is completely outdated. The provisions in BELA Bill are also not aligned with the practice of home education and will not be an improvement on the current laws and regulations.

Representatives from other organisations raised the same concerns that CHE had discussed with the WCED during our series of meetings earlier in 2021. We appreciate their support in this regard.

CHE remains committed to engage with the WCED and the DBE in matters that affect home education.

Please note that the venue had to be moved to Oudtshoorn for the 2nd October 2021 SACSSA Regional/National Athletics. Due to the new level 2 rules WPCSSA will have a full normal Athletics Meeting. This means more officials and events available for athletes to enter.

VENUE: De Jager Sport Complex, Oudtshoorn
DATE: Saturday, 2 October 2021 
REGIONAL ENTRY FEE: R155 + R50 officials fee (R205 Total)
NATIONALS ENTRY FEE: Regional Entry fee plus R30 extra per event entered for the SACSSA Nationals Meeting
CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES: 21 September 2021

List of events available per age group (Age of athlete on 31 December 2021). More info regarding entry for the SACSSA National Meeting available at https://www.capehomeed.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Competition-Rules-1.doc

To enter please send the athletes name and surname, Date of birth and events they want to enter for the regional as well as national athletics along with proof of payment to athletics.che@gmail.com no later than 21 September.

EFT payments can be made to:

• Bank: ABSA

• Account name: Cape Home Educators

• Account number: 4089098115

• Type of account: Cheque account

• Branch code: 632005

• Reference: your e-mail address

At the end of July, beginning of August 2021 CHE conducted a short survey among home educators in the Western Cape. We received 152 responses and the results clearly show that the home education regulations proposed in the BELA Bill does not reflect the reality of home education. Here are some of the high-lights of the survey.

Parents are opposed to and reject registration that requires approval from an administrator.

Home educators work towards a long term goal of educating their children. They follow a child-paced, child-led approach which means that they often do not follow a strict schedule or the age-grade bands of school.

Home educators use various methods to assess their children’s progress. Here are some of the comments in answer to the question “How do you assess the learning and development of your child?”

It is relational to the tutorial style of HE

Continuous assessment through spending much time with him and he loves to tell me what he has learned.

Via their Cambridge curriculum

When tasks are completed, it is easy to see if the information is being utilized and understood.

Once we are done with a topic we do a test to assess the development of my child.

Through BIDC with 6 assignments per subject.

Through observation

Continuous assessment during the application after each lesson.

For maths and English we follow a curriculum and there is ongoing assessment as we follow a mastery model.

Discussions around work, quality of their output and end of term tests (self-administered) for Maths and Languages

By continuous informal assessment

There are many ways to show that a child is learning and formal assessments by a third party is not the only way.

Representatives of Cape Home Educators met with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) in the second and third quarter of 2021 to share with them our concerns regarding section 51 of the BELA Bill. Research on home education and the impact that the BELA Bill will have on home educators were also shared with the WCED.

After our final meeting on 25 August 2021 we sent a copy of this letter to Minister Schäfer and Adv Coleridge-Zils.
We believe it is in the best interest of our members and the broader home education community to be informed of these discussions.

30 August 2021

Minister Debbie Schäfer, Advocate Lynn Coleridge-Zils

LETTER TO MINISTER ANGIE MOTSHEKGA – SECTION 51 OF THE BELA BILL TO UNDERGO TOTAL REVIEW

The education landscape changed fundamentally since 2020. Covid-19 brought disruption and uncertainty, but it also brought a new perspective and opportunity for change. The traditional school system could not realise the right to a basic education. Some schools scrambled to devise ways in which to continue to provide a basic education and Zoom classes, online schools, educational YouTube channels, and tutoring apps came to the fore. Others had to close their doors and hope to be able to catch up when the situation improves. Home education on the other hand, with its flexible curricula and approaches could weather the storm and with a few quick adaptations, continued to provide learners with a basic education.

While the education landscape changed fundamentally, BELA Bill did not change. In 2012, the minister stated in parliament that the BELA Bill was designed “… with the view of providing for Home Education as part of the formal schooling system.” (Q 2521 in 2012). Laws pertaining to home education is part of the Schools Act and over time this will force home education to be more like school which will result in it being shackled to the past and the flexibility and robustness of this alternative education system will be severely limited. Home education is an education modality that is as far removed from the school system as a car is from a train. And though they are both forms of transport that convey people from point A to point B they are not regulated under the same act.

Provinces handle independent school registration according to their provincial competency. During the pandemic provinces handled crisis schooling as part of their provincial competency, and even had different school opening dates. In contrast we have in section 51 of the BELA Bill, a very detailed prescriptive law that limits a province’s ability to regulate home education in its own province. The DBE is “nationalising” home education as it has a registration portal on the DBE Website. This appears to infringe on a provincial competency. CHE are concerned that home education is treated differently from other modalities.

We recognise and appreciate the efforts of Adv Lynn Coleridge-Zils in drafting changes to the home education provisions of the BELA Bill.  It is evident that her understanding of home education has deepened. The changes she proposed in our meeting of 25 August 2021 unfortunately, still does not fit with the practice of home education. Our serious concerns regarding assessments were not adequately resolved and our concerns regarding registration requirements were not addressed.

Education officials not well-versed in home education will struggle to comprehend that a “purposeful programme” does not always make use of a set of textbooks or that child-paced education means that a learner might only learn to read at age 12. The requirement to have one’s child assessed by a competent assessor (one who is registered with the South African Council of Educators or with the South African Qualifications Authority) in practice means that the learner will have to follow a curriculum that is aligned with the national curriculum statement (in this case CAPS). Some of the key findings from The Impact of the BELA Bill Survey indicated that 89% of the respondents do not use CAPS aligned curricula. 93% of the respondents plan to use an alternative school leaving qualification and not write the National Senior Certificate. The CAPS focus of Section 51 of the BELA Bill is misplaced.

It is also concerning that there is no clear indication of how the assessment reports, submitted to the Head of Department will be used. It might just be filed, never to be looked at. Or it could be used in a malicious effort to dissuade parents from home education. It is unreasonable to expect of parents to spend time and money on assessments simply to comply with a requirement that very possibly has no personal benefit. Adv Coleridge-Zils stated that evidence of learning is required, and we acknowledge this, but there are less restrictive and less discriminating ways to provide evidence of learning. The problem with this requirement is that the school modality is being used as a template for regulating home education. This leads to conflict and friction as the two modalities have very little in common, about as much as an apple and an orange.

We appreciate the amount of work that has been put into BELA Bill since 2013 and understand the desire to finalise it. However, the bill is fundamentally flawed as it is not in line with the reality and practice of home education. It will receive significant resistance when presented to parliament and if promulgated will be challenged in courts. Going back to the drawing board now will avoid exponentially more conflict and wasted effort later.  

We had high hopes that the registration requirements would change to be in accordance with the practice of home education. The draft requirements treat parents as incompetent and callous carers and is perceived as a threat by many home education parents.

A survey conducted by CHE among home educators in the Western Cape indicated that 75% of the 152 respondents are willing to register for home education if registration is not subject to approval. 87.5% indicated that they are willing to register for home education if they are permitted to follow the educational approach and philosophy of their choice. The low compliance with registration is of concern to both CHE and the WCED.

Cape Home Educators (CHE) thanks minister Schäfer for affording us the opportunity to have had multiple meetings with the Western Cape Education Department, for establishing a Joint Liaison Committee on Home Education and for appointing a home education representative to the Western Cape Education Council. We acknowledge that this is a national bill, but CHE respectfully requests minister Schäfer, as our political representative, to advise minister Angie Motshekga of our deep concerns with the BELA Bill and to point out the practical problems it will lead to in the Western Cape. We ask that you relay our request for a total and collaborative review of the home education provisions of the BELA Bill. Amending a couple of clauses does not correct the fundamental flaws contained in the home education provisions of the BELA Bill.

As requested by yourself at the beginning of this series of meetings, we propose the following new definition for home education: Home education shall mean education managed and controlled by the parent that shall include the choice of educational method and or curriculum, assessment, and educational resources.

Or a slightly expanded version: Home education shall mean education, alternative to compulsory school attendance, managed and controlled by the parent and where appropriate the learner, that shall include the choice of educational method and or curriculum, assessment, and educational resources.

 
Adv Coleridge-Zils informed us that your efforts to add BELA Bill to the CEM agenda was unsuccessful and that you might write a letter to minister Motshekga detailing your proposal. We request that you include our concerns in that letter and would appreciate it if you shared her response to your letter with us.

In summary our concerns are:

• The BELA Bill will not lessen the friction and level of mistrust between home educators and the education departments.
• The assessment requirement is impracticable.
• The requirements in BELA Bill does not address the reason for the low compliance to registration.
• Home education is a modality totally removed from the school modality.

To efficiently regulate home education, legislation should be research-based and drawn up in collaboration with home educators. We therefore suggest a total review of section 51 of the BELA Bill and emphasize the need for a new regulatory framework.

Yours sincerely,

Anelle Burger

CHE Chairperson

Click the download button in the gray bar to access the pdf.

From our first meeting with Minister Schäfer, we set out to establish a working consultative relationship built on mutual trust between CHE and the WCED. We wanted to understand the concerns the WCED, and the DBE have regarding home education and repeatedly asked for a list of the concerns that the department officials and the BELA Bill task team are trying to address through legislation. We unfortunately never received this list. This made it difficult to discuss alternative solutions in the following meetings, but we used the opportunities to raise our concerns with the BELA bill.

Our engagement with the WCED was not to give any form of legitimacy to any regulations pertaining to home education, but to alert them to the fact that current legislation should be retracted, and the proposed legislation should be redrafted to not only fairly reflect the practice of home education, but to also be implementable.

Our view is that the DBE should consider more than a total revision of Section 51 of the BELA Bill. It is not only Section 51 that is the problem. The fact that home education, a system that is totally different from school education, is regulated in the South African Schools Act (SASA) creates a situation that is like regulating bicycle transport in the trains act. We asked for a total review of the entire education regulatory framework so that it makes ample provision for education that is outside of the school system.

Research findings obtained from the Impact of the BELA Bill survey were shared with delegates from the WCED and we gave evidence why the requirements set out in the BELA Bill do not touch base with the practice of home education. We pointed out that the proposed regulations are in direct conflict with the philosophy and pedagogy of home education and highlighted that the bill creates serious misgivings and raises reasonable doubt about whether Section 51 will be practically implementable.

We presented research on alternative education in the hopes that it will be easier for learning centres, cottage schools and alternative education centres to register with the WCED. Small schools and centres are not home education, but they offer a service to the home education community, especially in providing learning assistance (tutors) and as a way to transition from home education to the school system.

Adv. Sarah Pudifin-Jones presented a legal opinion on home visits as we questioned how this requirement would infringe upon the constitutional right to privacy.

In our meetings, we asked that instead of using a legal solution to solve an educational problem we jointly craft an educational solution based on thorough research. Together we should work on a policy that is research led.

Throughout, our goal was to encourage the department to realise that Section 51 of the BELA Bill cannot be fixed with small amendments, as it is fundamentally flawed because it was not based upon research on home education. It is our opinion that SASA is not the appropriate act within which to regulate home education and that all regulations pertaining to home education should be disregarded and an alternative regulatory framework be drafted after thorough research and in consultation with home educators.

The Liberty in Learning Coalition and several other home educators have already workshopped alternative regulatory frameworks and would be very happy to work with the department should this become an option they are willing to investigate.

The education landscape changed fundamentally since 2020. Covid-19 brought disruption and uncertainty, but it also brought a new perspective and opportunity for change. The traditional school system could not realise the right to a basic education. Some schools scrambled to devise ways in which to continue to provide a basic education and Zoom classes, online schools, educational YouTube channels, and tutoring apps came to the fore. Others had to close their doors and hope to be able to catch up when the situation improves. Home education on the other hand, with its flexible curricula and approaches could weather the storm and with a few quick adaptations, continued to provide learners with a basic education.

It was the innovations tried and tested for distance education and home education that became solutions to the problems of the mainstream system. Therefore, home education, as an incubator for innovation and improvement should not be tied and restricted to fit into the traditional school system, merely for the convenience of administrators!

We hope that our engagement with the WCED will have an impact on the education sector. And we trust that this series of meetings will have a positive effect on legislation pertaining to home education. If engagement does not lead to change it is not engagement at all.

The Cape Home Educators Annual General Meeting was held on 14 August 2021 online using GoToMeeting platform due to COVID.

Our online Executive meeting is scheduled for 4 September 2021.

The minutes for the meeting, as well as the Chairman’s Report for 2020/2021 is available below:

On the 4th May 2021, Cape Home Educators attended a formal meeting with the WCED in Cape Town.

     The meeting was requested by the WCED in response to Cape Home Educators letter written to Debbie Schäfer outlining urgent concerns regarding the section 51 on Home Education in the BELA Bill, as it currently stands would severely restrict the freedom of home educators. In the letter, CHE also requested that the WCED meet with CHE representatives to discuss these concerns. CHE also asked for representation on the Education Council of the Western Cape.

     CHE invited the Pestalozzi Trust to the meeting. Pestalozzi Trust recently compiled a document, ‘The Impact of the BELA Bill’, which is based on research. Christopher Cordeiro, representing LearnFree, presented the research. He joined the meeting online from Johannesburg. Cape Home Educators gave a brief introduction of both it’s history and members, and introduced the Liberty in Learning Coalition.

     In our meeting we asked for WCED to engage home education representatives in an atmosphere of mutual trust, as this would be a pre-requisite for a successful collaborative relationship for future meetings. Pestalozzi Trust representative, Bouwe van der Eems made mention of home educators’ concerns regarding the BELA Bill. These concerns include: The application process of registration for home education, Curriculum choice, Monitoring and assessments, and Home visits. An alternative regulatory framework was proposed to address these concerns.

     Many home educators are concerned with the current Home Education section in the BELA Bill and how this will infringe on both their constitutional rights, as well as limiting their freedom to choose in the best interest of their children. Any section in the Bill that directs the methods and limitations of home education should be formulated in co-operation with home education representatives and those with expert knowledge of home education.

     Minister of Education in the Western Cape, Debbie Schäfer, has agreed to a follow up meeting with CHE. We hope that together, we can formulate a policy that will best support home educators while allowing government to work within the parameters of their basic requirements. The details of how these are practically catered for are of utmost importance.

      Minister Schäfer has agreed that CHE will have representation on the Education Council for the Western Cape which will enable us to determine these co-operatively. There has also been agreement to present our concerns at the Council of Education Ministers (CEM).

     We are excited about this positive step moving forward for all Home Educators.

     If you have not yet done so, we encourage you to join and support the associations in your region, such as Cape Home Educators (CHE) and special interest groups in the Liberty in Learning Coalition.

To join Cape Home Educators: https://www.capehomeed.co.za/join-che/

To find out more about Liberty in Learning: https://www.liberty-in-learning.org/

Dear Fellow Home Educators,
The handling of Home Education by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED)
Cape Home Educators (CHE) have written to the Minister of Basic Education in the Western Cape, minister Debbie Schäfer, regarding the handling of Home Education provisions in the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill by the WCED.

In 2014 the WCED published a policy that would have severely restricted the freedom of home education. When it was published for public comment, home educators criticised the policy. Since the WCED had not consulted home educators, the MEC for Education, Donald Grant, withdrew the policy within 3 weeks.

It is concerning that since the WCED withdrew its policy on home education in 2014, the WCED did not engage with home educators to address their concerns but assisted the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to draft the home education provisions in the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill and the Policy on Home Education (PHE) without consultation.

When the BELA Bill and the PHE was published for comments in 2017, all the restrictive provisions of the WCED policy were adopted by BELA Bill, the PHE or both. Some provisions were adopted verbatim.

In this letter we call on the minister to start engaging with the home education movement before this bill is tabled at a Council of Education Ministers (CEM) meeting.

Read the letter here:
https://www.capehomeed.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CHE-Letter-to-Debbie-Schafer.pdf

Read the 2014 draft policy here:
https://www.sahomeschoolers.org/doclink/wced-draft-policy-on-education-at-home/
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A call for action: Join our campaign
In our attempt to stop the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill from becoming law, it is imperative that we engage with government at every opportunity.

According to the National Education Policy Act (NEPA) the Minister must first consult with the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) before introducing new legislation in parliament. This council consists of the provincial education ministers and the national education minister.

CEM meetings are held quarterly, and we believe that the BELA Bill will be discussed at the next CEM meeting. The ministers have to be consulted and have to prove that they acted rationally and had all the relevant information to make decisions.

Therefore, CHE invites Home Educators to join our campaign to write to the minister to ensure that they consult with home educators and are made aware of the problems and concerns with regard to Home Education and that it would be reckless to approve a bill with such flaws.

Home Educators and Home Education Associations partook in various public participation campaigns to highlight our concerns with the BELA Bill. In general Home Educators experienced that these were mere tick box exercises on the part of the DBE, that our concerns were ignored. Regardless the fact that there are many problems with the BELA Bill, there are also a number of problems with how the bill is being prepared for tabling in parliament:

1. The Pestalozzi Trust has provided two legal opinions to the DBE that set out that home visits infringe on the right to privacy. These concerns haven’t been addressed.
2. The Bill was drafted without any basis in research. For example, there is no credible research on the number of home learners. How can the impact of the BELA Bill be assessed if there are no accurate statistics on something as basic as the number of home learners in South Africa?
3. The Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) has not considered the budgetary impact of the bill on parents and provinces. The costs associated with such assessments could potentially run into the tens of millions of Rands. South Africa can ill afford another wasteful expenditure.

Key procedural issues to focus on when writing to the MEC include:
1. Request the MEC to meet with home education associations, interest groups, parents and experts from their respective provinces prior to discussing the Bill in CEM and hear their concerns.
2. The home-education provisions will have social and economic impacts on the province. Ask if the provincial education department has quantified these and to share these evaluations with the organisations so that they can provide input.
3. Request that the provincial education minister prepare for the CEM by engaging with organizations like the Pestalozzi Trust and Liberty in Learning members, like CHE, thatcan provide research-based advice on the socio-economic impact of the bill in the province.
4. Request they place these concerns before the other members of CEM.

What can home educators do? Write to your Member of Executive Council (MEC) and demand that they listen to Home Educators
The Western Cape Provincial School Education Act of 1997 (Act 12 of 1997) provides that the requirements and conditions for the registration of a learner for education at home shall be as prescribed.

Read the Western Cape Provincial school education act here:
https://www.westerncape.gov.za/sites/www.westerncape.gov.za/files/documents/2005/1/wcape_provincial_school_education_act12-97.pdf

Issues that you can raise with the Western Cape MEC:
1. Why is there not a home educator in the Education Council?
2. Who should advise the minister on home education matters?
3. In Chapter 3: Establishment and maintenance of public schools, S12(2)(f), a “home” is defined as a type of school and will be deemed to one of 6 types of schools after a certain date. What type of school is “home” deemed to be?

In your letter to the minister, you could describe the following points:
– How long you have been home educating and how it has impacted your family.
– That you are concerned that the BELA Bill will have an impact on your family for the following reasons:
1. Education officials with whom you have no relationship will invade the privacy of your home.
2. The home education provisions in the BELA Bill have ignored research on home education that was presented to the department in 2014/15.
3. The home education provisions in the BELA Bill could make home education unaffordable to your family.

Call on the provincial minister to do the following:
1. Engage with the CHE association and with members of the Liberty in Learning Coalition.
2. Engage with the Pestalozzi Trust to share the research that was done and the legal opinion on the home visit provision.
3. Do not support the home education provisions in the BELA Bill at CEM until you have met with home educators in the Western Cape and consulted with them.
4. As a matter of urgency, ensure that home educators are represented on the Education Council of the Western Cape.

In accordance with administrative law, ministers have to be consulted and have to prove that they acted rationally and had all the necessary information to make their decisions. We need to make sure that they are made aware of the problems experienced by home educators. They need to answer whether the provisions are constitutionally sound. Even if they ignore our plea, we will have evidence for a legal case, that we partook at every chance we could to highlight our concerns. We must focus on procedural issues, how a law is passed, inform the CEM that they need to go back to the drawing board and make a good law, informed in consultation with home educators. Demand that they follow procedure, engage with them and provide background on Home Education and the effect the Bill will have on you.

As a result of the Pandemic, the conditions under which the Bill was proposed no longer exist and work needs to be done to understand the new environment. Home education enables many families to realise the right to education.

Write to the Western Cape MEC, Ms Debbie Schaefer
Personal Assistant to MEC: Audrey Frazenburg
Postal Address: Private Bag X9161, Cape Town 8000
Tel: 021 483 6574, Fax: 086 441 9431
Email: edumin.edumin@westerncape.gov.za

We encourage you to join and support the associations and special interest groups that work with the Pestalozzi Trust in the Liberty in Learning Coalition.

When sending your letter please BCC homeschoolfreedom1996@gmail.com so that the Trust can keep track of how many letters have been sent.

Kind regards,

Marietjie Ueckermann
Chairman
Cape Home Educators

Only children born between 2002 and 2011 can enter. A fun athletics day for the younger children will be held later in the year.

Unfortunately no spectators are allowed, but parents will be able to to watch from under the trees (It will just be on the other side of the fence from our normal seating area). Please volunteer to work as an official if you’d like to attend.

• Dates: 8 May 2021

• Venue: Tygerberg Athletics Club, Jan Burger Sports Park, De Grendel Rd, Parow North

• Time: 08h30 – 16h00

• Costs 8 May:  R210 per child (R220 for entries after 16 April, no entry after 19 April)

• Entries close: 19 April. 

List of events per age group: https://www.capehomeed.co.za/athletics-events-list-2021/

Program for the meeting: https://www.capehomeed.co.za/parow-athletics-program-2021/

– if you’d like to volunteer as an official please let me know

• Dress code: Plain white T-shirt with dark blue or black shorts (athletes will be given a CHE team sticker to wear on their shirts on the day.)

Children born in 2002-2011 may enter.

Please complete the online registration for 8 May at https://forms.gle/VsTbQXETcbTm1i9V6

You need to send proof of payment to athletics.che@gmail.com within 48 hours to complete your registration. If you still have credit from last year’s event please confirm the amount due.

EFT payments can be made to:

• Bank: ABSA

• Account name: Cape Home Educators

• Account number: 4089098115

• Type of account: Cheque account

• Branch code: 632005

• Reference: your e-mail address

Entries close: 19 April. We can only accommodate a limited number of entries due to COVID regulations and will close entry once we’ve reached that number, which could be earlier than the closing date. Please register early to avoid disappointment!

No late entries will be accepted!!!!Google Map = https://goo.gl/maps/cvuM8fxqyCt

General info:

1. Please ensure that you are at the venue 30 minutes before your child’s first event as you need to get the CHE sticker and the children need to be lined-up before being taken on to the field
2. It is a tartan track, which can get hot later in the day. Please bring tape plasters for your child(rens) feet, if they prefer to run barefoot.
3. The CHE will have an area to all sit together. Previous years we got the embankment (as we were the biggest “school”).
4. The final program will only be sent out once SACSSA has received all entries. We will e-mail this to all the athletes once we’ve received it.
5. Athletes only compete once (no finals are run at the regional meet)
6. The top 4 athletes from each event progress to the Provincial Meet on 22 May, again at the Tygerberg Athletics Club, Jan Burger Sports Park. You need to enter for this separately. We will send out results once it is available. 
7. No medals are awarded at the Regional Meet as this is only a qualifier for the Provincial meet.

Dress code and stickers

– White shirt with dark blue or black shorts
– CHE sticker on left of chest (please collect your sticker at the CHE gazebo)
– Event stickers. Please note you need to provide your own event stickers. A separate sticker is needed for each event as the officials take these at the end of the event to determine placings.
Parents please ensure that athletes have their stickers on when they report for their events. Book name label stickers work well.

Please remember to bring a sticker/label for each event your child(ren) will be taking part in. If you forget we will be selling stickers/labels at R5 each.

Please note the stickers for each child also needs to show their school (in our case Cape Home Educators). Example:

John Doe            10 years
Cape Home Educators
High jump

Age is their age on 31 December 2021 eg for children born in 2011 it will be 10. If the student is 9 turning 10 this year, he/she is 10 years old! AGE GROUP 16 AND 17 ARE ENTERED AS 17 (Youth). AGE GROUP 18 AND 19 ARE ENTERED AS 19 (Junior).

If you are unsure about the stickers, simply ensure that your child brings empty ones along. We will have a list with the age groups and events for all our athletes at the CHE table. And can help them on the day.

Officials
We need to provide an official for every 5 athletes entered. We have added a R60 officials fee to the entry fee to rent officials. You are welcome to volunteer as an official and will then be paid for the day’s work. SACSSA will have Officials Training on Saturday, 20 March 2021.

Officials please wear a white shirt and white/navy/black pants.