BELA Act dispute resolved, says Solidarity Movement
The Solidarity Movement, which includes institutions such as Solidarity and AfriForum, has settled with government at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) regarding the dispute over the Basic Education Laws Amendment, or BELA Act.
The parties involved in the dispute at Nedlac were Solidarity, the Presidency, and the Minister of Basic Education.
Nedlac confirmed that the dispute was resolved on Thursday, 28 November 2025.
As part of the settlement, the Solidarity Movement confirmed that the controversial sections of the BELA Act will no longer be enforced on December 13.
AfriForum stated that norms, standards, and national policies must first be developed to ensure schools at full capacity are not instructed to change their language and admission policies.
The parties agreed that language and admission policies should consider a school's immediate environment or feeding zone, not the broader education district.
The agreement also stated that implementing the recommendations does not rule out the possibility of future legislative amendments to Sections 4 and/or 5 of the BELA Act.
AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said the settlement does not affect the process of the Government of National Unity (GNU) or any other processes regarding BELA.
“The Solidarity Movement will, however, present the outcome of the settlement to the GNU.”
The BELA Act was met with opposition from various organisations and political parties, citing that it poses a huge challenge to the Afrikaans language and culture.
The BELA Bill was signed into law in September 2024.
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