In the 2019 election, SAHomeschoolers wrote a guide on the manifestos of the various political parties from the perspective of home education. This article can be viewed at 2019 Election Guide

As the parties are releasing their manifestos, the same will be done for the 2024. The following questions will be answered using the party manifestos:

1. Does the manifesto list education as an election issue?
2. Does the manifesto mention / acknowledge the role of parents in education?
3. Does the manifesto mention home education?
4. Does their plan promote more liberty in education, as opposed to more state control.
5. What is their plan?
6. Does the party support the BELA Bill?

ACDP

1. Yes, chapter 10 is about "Education and Skills development".
2. Yes, because it views parents as "central to the education of their children" and promotes changes to the constitution to protect parental rights.
3. Yes, and it proposes the repeal of home education provisions from the BELA Bill.
4. The manifesto does not propose significant changes to the regulatory framework. Although it advocates that certain rights are protected, it does not propose a new regulatory framework the is less dominated by the state.
5. The manifesto proposes a number of often unrelated matters, but does not have a plan for a new education dispensation.
6. The party opposed the BELA Bill in the National Assembly.

Al Jama-Ah

1. Yes, section 9 has the heading "We offer quaility education to all"
2. No, parents are not mentioned in section 9, or the rest of the document.
3. No. The statement "Guaranteeing that every child has access to well-resourced public educational institutions" could be interpreted as being hostile towards education outside public institutions.
4. The manifesto does not propose significant changes to the regulatory framework.
5. The manifesto articulates a number of ambitions, but gives little details on how these ambitions can be realised.
6. The party does not have a seat in parliament.

ANC

1. The manifesto lists 6 priorities. One of the points under Priority 4 is "Improve education and skills". Therefore education seems to be a part of an election issue.
2. Under priority section the statement is made that the ANC will "Strengthen the role of families in supporting both young and older citizens, giving special attention to the responsibilities of the family in raising children." These words acknowledge the responsibility of families in raising children, which is positive.
3. The manifesto does not mention home education.
4. The manifesto seems to focus on centralisation rather than liberalisation. When it comes to reform in education, it refers to the past and not the future. It states :"Over the past three decades, a comprehensive framework for the transformation of basic education, the post school education and training system, health as well as our system of innovation, have been put in place." It is reasonable to assume that the "comprehensive framework for the transformation of basic education" includes the BELA Bill. Since the BELA Bill centralises control over basic education in the national state, it can be deduced the ANC views that education reform should come through more control by the central state.
5. Given the argument in the previous point, the ANC plan for education is the implementation of the BELA Bill.
6. The party supported the BELA Bill in the National Assembly (NA) as well as the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).

BOSA

1. Yes, chapter 5 is about reforming education for jobs.
2. Apart from being viewed as being in a partnership with teachers to decide on appropriate measures to maintain discipline, the manifesto does not recognise the role of parents.
3. It does not mention home education.
4. The plan does not mention any measures to liberalise the education sector.
5. The plan is to reform education by raising standards, investing in programmes, infrastructure incentives and increasing salaries. The only thing that is unique is the idea to establish an education ombud.
6. The party does not have a seat in parliament.

Change Starts Now

1. No, it does not have a separate section on education. It does have a section on Early Childhood Development (ECD) that motivates the expansion of access to ECD.
2. Apart for mentioning more parenting support as part of the expansion of ECD, it does not mention parents. It seems as if they view parents as people that need support, and not as people who's inputs must be considered.
3. It does not mention home education.
4. It does not really have a plan on education.
5. It does not really have a plan on education.
6. The party does not have a seat in parliament.

COPE

1. Yes, it is one of the 46 sections in the manifesto.
2. Parents are required to "support their children's education" and receive ongoing education on AI and also "parents who have the means must pay school fees or volunteer their services to make schools functional." There is however no mention of parents having a say in the education of their children.
3. It does not mention home education.
4. The policy does promote the devolution of powers to parents of the private sector, but does promote the idea that provinces could have more power to determine the curriculum for areas.
5. The manifesto does not deviate from the current dispensation.
6. From the record it is not clear whether COPE supported the bill.

DA

1. Yes, it has a dedicated chapter on education.
2. It does not acknowledge a real role for parents in education. It does commit to provide certain information to parents, for example time allocation in the curriculum, results of literacy tests, test results and school evaluation reports. It also gives parent communities the opportunity to opt for mother language education. However, nowhere does it acknowledge the obligations of parents to guide and direct the education of their children and requires input from parents.
3. It does not mention home education, nor does it advocate making provision in law for a diversity of new educational modalities, except for the collaborative schools. However in collaborative schools, the inputs of parents can often be diluted.
4. The is no mention of liberalizing the education landscape.
5. In essence, the focus of the education plan is to improve the school system through a competent government.
6. The party opposed the BELA Bill in the NA and in the NCOP. However the DA governed Western Cape government supports the home education measures in the BELA Bill.

EFF

1. Yes, it has a dedicated chapter on education.
2. It does mention parents only once in the sentence "The EFF government will criminalize all parents who do not take their children to school."This statement does not acknowledge that parents have any role to play in education, except for sending their children to school.
3. It does not mention home education.
4. The policy of criminalizing parents that do not send their children to school in effect means that home education will be banned.
5. The plan of the EFF is purely based on government providing everything related to education. Almost every statement of the education plan starts with "The EFF government will ..."
6. The party supported the BELA Bill in the National Assembly (NA) as well as the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).

GOOD

1. Education is part of the "Social Justice" pillar of its policy.
2. The word "parent" is not mentioned in the manifesto.
3. It does not mention home education.
4. The policy only relies increased state funding in education, including "free tertiary education".
5. It does not propose a new educational dispensation, but merely increasing state funding in the existing dispensation.
6. The party does not have a seat in parliament.

IFP

1. Yes, it has a dedicated chapter on education.
2. Yes. One of its promises are : "Promote the involvement of engaged parents ...".
3. It does not mention home education. However it seems to leave an opening for this with the promise : "Ensure concurrence of powers and functions between the national and provincial spheres of Government. Provinces and local communities should be allowed to develop an education dispensation and school model best suited to their own needs."
4. The previous extract seems to create some space for liberalization.
5. In essence the provision of state sponsored quality education.
6. The party supported the BELA Bill in the NA.

MK Party

1. Yes, it has a dedicated section with the title "1. On Education policy, we will:"
2. No, parents are not mentioned in the section on education.
3. It does not mention home education.
4. The education policy is based on the state providing free compulsory education, including meals.
5. In essence the provision of state provided quality education.
6. The party does not have a seat in parliament.

Patriotic Alliance

1. Education is not part of the turnaround strategy, but is one of the broader discussion points.
2. No. It seeks solutions in increased state oversight over teachers and principals, but not in parental involvement
3. It does not mention home education.
4. It supports limited liberalization in the form of public-private partnerships. 
5. It does not propose a new educational dispensation, but merely using different incentives within the existing dispensation.
6. The party does not have a seat in parliament.

Rise Mzansi

1. Yes, it has a section with the title "Architecting basic education reform"
2. No, the word "parent" is not mentioned in the manifesto.
3. No, the word "home education" does not appear in the manifesto.
4. The manifesto does not promote the expansion of liberty in the sector.
5. Liberaliisation is not mentioned as a means to improve education.
6. The party does not have a seat in parliament.

VF+

1. Yes, there is a chapter on "Accessible, Quality Education as cornerstone."
2. Yes, because it promotes a "parent- and community-driven mother-tongue education". It also promotes a voucher system where parents are in charge.
3. Yes, and it proposes that they can register without any permission.
4. Yes, it promotes giving more power to parents and community councils.
5. The manifesto proposes a new education dispensation that includes community councils and an independent regulator.
6. The party opposed the BELA Bill in the NA, but does not have a representative in the NCOP.