(Bloomberg) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that a controversial education bill that had threatened to split the country’s new governing coalition would be fully implemented.
A mechanism to resolve disputes between members of the government of national unity had agreed the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act should go into full effect, Ramaphosa said in a statement Friday.
“This view was endorsed by the leaders of the parties to the GNU in a meeting I held with them today,” Ramaphosa said, adding that he would sign a Presidential Proclamation to bring it into immediate operation.
The president had already signed the measure into law in September, but delayed the implementation of some parts of it to allow for further consultation on key clauses that parties opposed.
The Democratic Alliance, a key member of the coalition, had said the legislation gives the education department excessive powers to determine language policy and admission criteria at state schools.
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