POLICY CHANGES: Gwarube opens public comment on new Bela Act school regulations

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has published three sets of draft regulations and a related draft notice under the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act for public comment as the government continues implementing the legislation.

The four implementation instruments deal with the election and functioning of School Governing Bodies (SGBs), additional remuneration for certain state employees, minimum standards for teacher development facilities, and the National Education Information System.

A 30-day public comment window has opened, closing on 5 September 2026, at 23:59, allowing parents, teachers, learners, school governing bodies, education organisations, unions, faith-based organisations, civil society and all South Africans interested to scrutinise the proposals and make submissions before any regulations are finalised.

“The Bela Act is law, and its implementation is continuing. Our responsibility is to ensure that implementation is lawful, responsible and workable, and that the schools, governing bodies and education officials who must give effect to the law have clear and practical guidance,” Gwarube said.

“Public consultation is an important part of that process. These draft regulations and the related notice will support greater certainty and consistency across the sector, while giving the sector a meaningful opportunity to help improve the proposals before they are finalised.”

Modernising governing body elections

To establish a consistent national framework, the draft Notice Relating to the Election of Members of Governing Bodies outlines a three-year term limit for SGB members. It proposes three distinct election methods: traditional in-person meetings, manual voting over a full designated day, or secure electronic voting where appropriate safeguards exist.

For schools choosing the electronic route, the regulations introduce the Candidate Nominations System (CNS system), a secure portal compliant with the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia). E-voting systems must be capable of authenticating parents on the voters roll, preventing multiple votes, and displaying real-time results. To adopt this digital method, schools must first submit a formal readiness assessment to their district office. Once approved, authenticated parents will cast their secret ballots using unique, secure One-Time PINs (OTPs).

To maintain national quality control, the minister of basic education will establish a specialised task team responsible for identifying, vetting and maintaining a centralised registry of approved service providers and e-voting programmes. 

Clamping down on unauthorised extra pay

To curb informal financial payments, the Department is clamping down on SGB compensation for state-employed staff performing additional school duties. SGBs must develop a formal Section 38A financial policy and submit a written “Form 1” application to their provincial head of department (HoD) for any extracurricular activity exceeding 1,800 hours per annum. Employees must formally agree in writing, and contracts are capped at one school financial year. 

Strict fiscal controls prohibit paying bonuses, gratuities, fee exemptions, or services already funded by the state. SGBs are also barred from making payments unless school assets exceed liabilities. Furthermore, unauthorised payments are subject to state recovery, with offenders facing potential criminal prosecution under national anti-corruption laws. SGBs must keep meticulous records of all extra hours worked, and employees must submit detailed quarterly reports of their additional responsibilities to the governing body.

New standards for teacher training and resource allocation

The third set of regulations proposes minimum norms and standards for Provincial Teacher Development Institutes and District Teacher Development Centres. According to the department, the measures are intended to ensure teachers across the country have access to functional, safe and inclusive facilities for professional development.

Provincial Institutes will coordinate training and may offer residential facilities for subject advisers and mentor teachers. District Centres will act as accessible hubs for localised resources and professional learning communities.

Backup power, such as solar, generators, or wind, must be installed to prevent disruption during load shedding, and theory classes are capped at 30 teachers per trainer.

The fourth instrument, the Draft Regulations on the National Education Information System (Neias), proposes a structured national framework for collecting, verifying, storing, protecting and using education data.

The department said reliable information was essential for determining the number of learners and teachers in the system, identifying where classrooms, textbooks, educators and other resources were required, and tracking whether services were reaching schools and communities most in need.

In practice, this centralised database will guide the distribution of new classrooms, textbooks, and qualified educators, ensuring that key state resources reach the communities that need them most. To strengthen sector-wide governance, the regulations establish strict verification protocols designed to improve accountability. By safeguarding sensitive data, the system aims to create a highly reliable planning tool that actively tracks whether critical state services are successfully reaching South African classrooms. 

How you can participate

The draft regulations, together with details on the submission process, are available here. Interested parties can submit written representations until the September 5 deadline. Comments must be addressed to the Director: Legal Services, for the attention of Advocate Zukile Ntshwanti, and can be submitted via mail to Private Bag X895, Pretoria, 0001, or delivered by hand to the Department of Basic Education at 222 Struben Street, Pretoria. DM

Dedicated e-mail addresses have been established for each implementation area:

• SGB Elections: SGBElections@dbe.gov.za

• Section 38A Pay: Section38A@dbe.gov.za

• Teacher Development: TeacherDevelopment@dbe.gov.za

• National Information System: NEIAS@dbe.gov.za