comments3

2026-08-31 09:42:01 +02:00

Chene

No I do not

All of the above

HoD Powers to Dissolve Underperforming SGBs

ABSOLUTELY NO. ??

I strongly oppose these proposed regulations under the BELA framework in their current form.

School Governing Bodies exist to give parents, educators and school communities a meaningful voice in the governance of their children's schools. That voice must not be reduced to a box-ticking exercise while more and more decision-making authority is transferred away from parents and communities and towards central government.

Parents have a fundamental interest in how their children are educated, and SGBs must retain real, meaningful authority over matters affecting their schools.

I am particularly concerned about regulations that could:

❌ Undermine the autonomy and decision-making powers of SGBs.
❌ Reduce meaningful parental participation in school governance.
❌ Give government excessive authority over decisions that should involve individual school communities.
❌ Interfere unnecessarily with legitimate arrangements made by schools to provide additional academic support to learners.
❌ Create excessive bureaucracy and administrative burdens for already-stretched schools and governing bodies.
❌ Further centralise education instead of strengthening accountable, local school governance.

I support accountability, transparency, proper oversight and quality education. But accountability does not require removing the voice and authority of parents.

A centralised education system cannot automatically understand the unique needs of every school, community and learner.

Parents are not outsiders to their children's education. They are the primary stakeholders.

Government's role should be to provide a strong, fair framework, resources, standards and oversight — not to progressively take decision-making away from the people who know their schools and children best.

We need an education system that empowers parents, strengthens teachers, supports SGBs and puts learners first, rather than one that continually expands bureaucratic control.

I therefore call for these regulations to be reconsidered and substantially revised, with meaningful protection for SGB autonomy, parental participation and school-level decision-making.

NO to excessive centralisation.
NO to weakening School Governing Bodies.
NO to sidelining parents.
NO to unnecessary bureaucratic control.

YES to empowered parents.
YES to strong and independent SGBs.
YES to accountable schools.
YES to quality education.
YES to putting our children's best interests first. ??

Our children's education should not become a system where government decides everything and parents are merely consulted. Parents must have a real voice — and a real seat at the table.

2026-08-30 14:20:04 +02:00

james

No I do not

All of the above

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

2026-08-30 10:29:00 +02:00

Carla

Not fully

All of the above

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

I support the objective of improving governance, accountability and standards within South African public schools. However, I have serious concerns about aspects of the proposed regulations that appear to centralise decision-making and could unnecessarily reduce the autonomy of School Governing Bodies.

In particular, the requirement for prior approval from the provincial Head of Department before an SGB can remunerate a state-employed teacher for additional duties is likely to create unnecessary bureaucracy and delays. A potential three-month approval period is completely out of proportion to the operational requirements of schools. Extracurricular activities such as sport, cultural activities, academic support, school tours and weekend programmes frequently require decisions within days or weeks, not months.

The proposed system could also have the unintended consequence of discouraging teachers from undertaking additional activities. If teachers cannot reasonably be compensated for work outside their normal duties, schools may struggle to provide sport, cultural and academic programmes, ultimately disadvantaging learners.

I therefore recommend that the regulations adopt a risk-based approach rather than requiring prior approval for every additional payment. Clear remuneration limits, disclosure requirements, auditing, conflict-of-interest provisions and annual reporting could provide appropriate accountability without requiring thousands of individual applications to provincial departments. If prior approval is retained, a substantially shorter statutory response period should apply, with applications deemed approved if the Department fails to respond within that period.

Regarding SGB elections, I support standardisation and believe that e-voting could improve accessibility and participation. However, electronic voting must not exclude parents who lack reliable digital access or digital literacy. Appropriate safeguards are also required to ensure voter authentication, ballot secrecy, prevention of duplicate voting, protection of personal information and independent verification of results.

Any powers granted to the Head of Department to intervene in an SGB should likewise be subject to clearly defined and objective criteria. SGBs should be given written reasons, an opportunity to respond and an appropriate appeal mechanism before intervention takes place.

I support the proposed minimum standards for Teacher Development Centres, including the prohibition of pit latrines and bucket toilets. However, government should provide a realistic implementation timetable and the necessary funding to ensure that these standards can actually be achieved.

Overall, I urge the Department to ensure that these regulations strengthen accountability without creating unnecessary centralised bureaucracy. South Africa needs empowered and accountable school governing bodies, supported by effective provincial departments—not school communities that are responsible for outcomes but require government approval for routine operational decisions. The overriding consideration should always be the best interests of learners and the quality of education they receive.The proposed requirement for prior written approval from the provincial Head of Department could seriously undermine the ability of schools to provide extracurricular activities efficiently.

2026-08-30 08:42:58 +02:00

Henri

No I do not

All of the above

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

Tired of these power hungry thugs

2026-08-30 08:11:51 +02:00

Bernadette

No I do not

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

2026-08-30 00:56:34 +02:00

Georgina

No I do not

All of the above

Digital Exclusion & Security Risks in SGB E-Voting

Democratically elected parent bodies should retain the local autonomy and flexibility to reward dedicated staff for extra effort without state interference or bureaucratic vetoes

2026-08-29 20:40:59 +02:00

Ben

No I do not

All of the above

Digital Exclusion & Security Risks in SGB E-Voting

2026-08-29 14:21:00 +02:00

Natasha

No I do not

All of the above

General Support for Standardisation & Financial Oversight

Democratically elected parent bodies should retain the local autonomy and flexibility to reward dedicated staff for extra effort without state interference or bureaucratic vetoes

2026-08-29 13:18:51 +02:00

Bonita

No I do not

All of the above

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

2026-08-29 08:21:34 +02:00

Christiaan

No I do not

Focus on Physical Buildings vs Direct Teacher Support

2026-08-29 07:18:59 +02:00

Marcelle

No I do not

All of the above

Focus on Physical Buildings vs Direct Teacher Support

2026-08-28 16:14:03 +02:00

A

No I do not

All of the above

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

2026-08-28 15:18:49 +02:00

Jean

No I do not

All of the above

Digital Exclusion & Security Risks in SGB E-Voting

2026-08-28 11:01:02 +02:00

Rodney

No I do not

All of the above

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

2026-08-28 10:26:53 +02:00

Annetjie

No I do not

All of the above

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

eachers who are willing to work extra hard to benefit the excellence of education ( inclusive of sports and extra mural activities) should automatically be allowed renumeration.
Decision making by by governing bodies is a good means of decision making as monitoring can be done best by parents and those closest to the the learners on the ground.)

Initiatives by governing bodies to raise funds and then administer those funds for these aspects of schooling should be respected .

2026-08-28 10:09:12 +02:00

Myra

No I do not

HoD Powers to Dissolve Underperforming SGBs

2026-08-28 09:13:11 +02:00

Richard

No I do not

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

Gemeenskappe verskil daarom moet 'n gemeenskap beheer kan he oor die skole wat daardie gemeenskap dien - nie die staat nie!

2026-08-28 07:01:48 +02:00

Anke

No I do not

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

2026-08-28 06:28:30 +02:00

Wendy

No I do not

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

Teachers who are willing to work extra hard to benefit the excellence of education ( inclusive of sports and extra mural activities) should automatically be allowed renumeration.
Decision making by by governing bodies is a good means of decision making as monitoring can be done best by parents and those closest to the the learners on the ground.)

Initiatives by governing bodies to raise funds and then administer those funds for these aspects of schooling should be respected .

2026-08-28 06:08:39 +02:00

Andries

No I do not

All of the above

HoD Powers to Dissolve Underperforming SGBs

While I acknowledge the need for standardized school governance, I OBJECT to specific overreaching aspects of the draft regulations and urge the Minister to make the following critical amendments:

Reduce the 3-Month Section 38A Approval Window:
The proposed 3-month waiting period for HoD authorization under Regulation 5(2) is completely unworkable. Requiring an SGB to wait up to a quarter of a year to pay educators for coaching sports, music lessons, or weekend academic catch-up sessions will paralyze extra-curricular programs.
Amendment Request: The approval window must be shortened to 30 calendar days, with a provision that failure by the HoD to respond within 30 days constitutes automatic temporary approval.
Protect SGB Autonomy & Avoid Centralization: The regulations grant excessive administrative oversight to provincial education departments over routine SGB functions. SGBs are elected by parents and must retain the operational flexibility to manage extra duties without excessive red tape.
Safeguard Against Digital Exclusion in E-Voting: Notice 7797 must explicitly guarantee that schools adopting e-voting maintain accessible physical voting alternatives so that parents without internet access, data, or smartphones are not disenfranchised.
Prioritise In-Classroom Educator Relief: Physical infrastructure norms for district training centres must be matched by immediate, practical support for educators inside overcrowded classrooms.

2026-08-27 22:07:35 +02:00

Andre

No I do not

All of the above

HoD Powers to Dissolve Underperforming SGBs

2026-08-27 16:33:31 +02:00

Koos

No I do not

All of the above

Focus on Physical Buildings vs Direct Teacher Support

If the teachers must not be paid for doing sports coaching after hours there will be any of such activities

2026-08-27 15:14:26 +02:00

Barry

No I do not

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

Bureaucracy is bad enough as it is now its being extent ended to the detriment of who it is supposed to serve. NO!

2026-08-27 15:12:32 +02:00

Tessa

No I do not

All of the above

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

Adding bureaucracy & delays doesn't help students or schools.

2026-08-27 14:52:10 +02:00

Ryno

No I do not

All of the above

Digital Exclusion & Security Risks in SGB E-Voting

2026-08-27 13:00:17 +02:00

Gerhard

No I do not

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

Adding admin to frustration.

2026-08-27 12:22:22 +02:00

Alan

No I do not

All of the above

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

2026-08-27 12:02:12 +02:00

Floris

No I do not

All of the above

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

A 3 month waiting window will paralyse school calendars, delay sports seasons and academic catch-up programs, and burden both schools and provincial departments with excessive red tape.
They will put even more stress on a struggling system at the top instead of letting very capable people deal with their school's administration. The people at the school also understand specific situation in the specific environment a lot better than a "one size fits all" approach from the top.

2026-08-27 10:39:50 +02:00

Lorraine

No I do not

All of the above

General Support for Standardisation & Financial Oversight

2026-08-27 09:47:50 +02:00

Ivor

No I do not

All of the above

Administrative Delays (3-Month HoD Approval Window)

These are more delays tactics and the Education system, which is already depleted and eroding with creating new bills is an infridgement upon a child's right to immediate education.