A proposed education bill in South Africa has stirred controversy, with the Democratic Alliance expressing concerns that it could undermine the country’s new government of national unity. The bill aims to grant the government authority over language and admission policies in schools, which are currently determined by school governing bodies primarily composed of parents and community leaders. Critics argue that the legislation poses a threat to single-language schools, particularly those teaching in Afrikaans, a language spoken by the white minority Afrikaner population and others.

Of the 23,719 public schools in South Africa, approximately 2,484 are Afrikaans-language schools as per government data. Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen announced intentions to meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa before the bill is signed into law on Friday. A civil society group has expressed plans to legally challenge the bill following its approval by Ramaphosa.

The Democratic Alliance, the second-largest political party in South Africa, entered into the government of national unity with the African National Congress (ANC) in June, marking the first time the ANC lost its parliamentary majority since the dismantling of apartheid in 1994. The ANC supports the bill, believing it would prevent the exclusion of majority Black students from schools where Afrikaans is the sole language of instruction.

Steenhuisen emphasized that the Democratic Alliance had raised objections to the education bill during negotiations for the unity government, citing concerns about potential infringements on the constitutional right to education in students’ native languages. He warned that disregarding these objections could jeopardize the unity government’s future and erode the trust on which it was established.

Ramaphosa has the option to sign the bill into law or return it to Parliament for revisions if he deems it constitutionally questionable. Criticism of the bill continues, with Afriforum, a civil society group, cautioning that it could lead to the eradication of Afrikaans schools, transforming them into predominantly English-language institutions.