Education Laws Amendment Bill: voting
EDUCATION
PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
14 September 2007
EDUCATION LAWS AMENDMENT BILL: VOTING
Chairperson: Prof S
Mayatula ( ANC)
Documents handed out:
Amendements Proposed to the Education Laws Amendment Bill [
B33A-2007]
Audio recording of
meeting
SUMMARY
The Committee met to vote on the Education Laws Amendment Bill. Prior to
voting, certain legal issues within the Bill were clarified by the Department
of Education. During the voting process the Democratic Alliance (DA) reserved
its right to vote on the Bill, and the Inkatha
Freedom Party (IFP) abstained from voting on Clause 8 of the Bill. The Bill was
adopted by the Committee, with amendments.
MINUTES
The Chairperson opened the floor to questions of clarification from
Members, especially regarding the legal concerns in the Bill.
Clause 5
Adv E Boschoff, Legal Advisor to the Department of
Education, informed the Committee that the term ‘random’ in the clause should
be retained, as it limited the victimization of learners or the process. The
process could not be manipulated as there were no predefined patterns.
With regards to informing a parent about a random test pertaining to their
child, Adv Boschoff said the test was conducted randomly.
The parent should thus not be informed before the test was conducted, as that
might interfere with the test.
Mr A Mpontshane (IFP) sought
clarity on the definition of the term ‘body cavity’
Adv Boschoff responded it related to a search of not
only the body, but also going inside the body.
After these matters were clarified the Chairperson allowed the Committee to
vote on the bill.
Motion of Desirability
He read the Motion of Desirability, to which Members agreed.
Voting on the Bill
The Committee agreed to the Bill, with amendments. The DA agreed with Clauses 1
to 27 as amended, but reserved its right to vote on the Bill. The IFP supported
the Bill but disagreed with Clause 8, and thus voted against that clause.
The Chairperson expressed his surprise at the DA’s refusal to vote on the Bill
as it was involved in the deliberations, but raised no objections throughout
that process.
The Chairperson thanked Members for their participation, and reiterated his
disappointment at the stance taken by the DA.
The meeting was adjourned.