President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwalbe to fully implement the Basic Education Law Amendment Act (BELA).
This follows a clearinghouse decision in Congress in which all parties agreed that the BELA bill should not be sent back to Congress for changes to the disputed sections.
Prime Minister Ramaphosa said this view was supported by party leaders of the Government of National Unity (GNU) at a meeting held today.
The decision to implement the two outstanding provisions of the BELA Act was finally reached after three months of consultations with various stakeholders.
Video | Parties threaten legal action if the bill is fully implemented.
This comes after trade union Solidarity, civil society organizations AfriForum and the Democratic Alliance opposed two clauses in the BELA law relating to language and admissions.
Opponents argue that full implementation of the BELA law would put the Afrikaans language at risk.
The DA also threatened to withdraw from the GNU if President Cyril Ramaphosa orders its full implementation.
Video | Previously, some experts had argued that full implementation of the Fundamental Law of Education Amendment Act could take several years.
