Ammendment to Gauteng Education Law - A comedy of errors

Amendments to the Gauteng Education Law have recently been introduced. These amendments have been analysed by the Leendert van Oostrum of the Pestalozzi Trust. This analysis concludes these ammendments are so badly written that it would be very difficult for the Department of Education to prosecute people with this law. Some paragraphs actually state exactly the opposite of what they were intended to mean. Click here to read the complete analysis.

If it is possible for such poor legislation to be passed into law, the entire legislative process is suspicious. Leendert van Oostrum also writes the following on the Tuisonderwys mailing list : "What is shocking to me, though, is not so much the departmental officials who drafted the amendments for the MEC for Education. What is shocking is that the amendments, with those glaring arrors in them, were actually passed into law."

Leendert van Oostrum continues : "That means that it was passed by all the members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. That means, those good people you voted for in the last elections (if, like a good democrat, you did vote).

The legislature only passed the law after it was diligently considered in every detail by the Education Portfolio Committee of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. Almost all parties represented in the legislature are also represented on the Education Portfolio Committee.

The Education Portfolio Committee only considered the law after it had been submitted by the MEC for Education, who was advised by the officials of her departement who had drafted the amendments, and who also submitted it to the departmental lawyer(s) for scrutiny before it was submitted to the legislature.

After being passed by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, the amendments only became law after being signed by the Gauteng Provincial Premier, who did so with the assistance of his own advisers.

And all these clever and highly paid people still made one big mess of it!

Lesson: before you vote in the next elections make sure, not only that your prospective elected representatives can read, but that they actually DO read!"