President Cyril Ramaphosa will issue an advisory on implementing the Basic Education Amendment Laws (BELA) Act, his office announced Friday, as the deadline for resolving disputes over the contentious language policy expires. The legislation has sparked heated debate over Afrikaans-medium schools in South Africa.

The Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed they will release guidance on next steps, though no specific timeline was provided.

The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) pressed for full implementation of the act, including the disputed clauses 4 and 5 that address language policies in schools. SADTU spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said they submitted their position to the president earlier this week.

“We haven’t received anything yet from the president,” Cembi said. “We sent a letter on Monday demanding that those two clauses be implemented.”

Several political parties, including the United Democratic Movement, Al Jama-ah and Rise Mzansi, have joined SADTU in calling for immediate implementation of the entire act without modifications.

The deadline set by Ramaphosa was intended to give stakeholders time to resolve differences over the act’s language provisions. Multiple affected parties submitted their positions ahead of today’s deadline.

The dispute centers on the act’s impact on schools using Afrikaans as their primary teaching language, highlighting ongoing tensions over language policy in South African education