THE Western Cape's Education Department's (WCED) contentious gender identity and sexual orientation policy will be signed and adopted before the end of this year.
Western Cape Legislature’s Speaker Masizole Mnqasela said it would be great if the adoption of the policy could have happen as soon as June.
"It's definitely possible," he said.
These groundbreaking guidelines – as previously no guidelines or policies for schools to support transgender pupils existed - would, according to the department, make schools more inclusive and supportive for LGBTQ+ pupils.
The guidelines allow pupils to dress in a uniform that matches their gender identity. It further recommends that schools make provision for a unisex bathroom.
Another guideline allows pupils to bring a partner of their choice to school events, including Valentine balls and matric dances, "regardless of sexual orientation".
"The draft (guidelines) are awaiting sign-off,“ said the department’s spokesperson, Bronagh Hammond.
"It may have changed since consultation," she said, adding that the final version which is currently being considered for adoption will only be made public once the document has been signed off.
Hammond said she cannot provide timeframes.
"That is impossible to do as it’s dependent on the sign off of the (MEC).“
According to the guidelines, pupils of all sexual orientations and gender identities may be encouraged to participate in school sports, free from bullying, harassment and discrimination.
Earlier this year, LGBTQ+ organisation, “The Triangle Project”, sparked debate on social media after calling for boys to be allowed to wear skirts in schools if they so choose.
At the time, the organisations said schools needed to adopt dress codes that allowed for gender-neutral uniforms and creative combinations of clothing items which any pupil should be able to wear regardless of their gender identity or sex.
The National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) welcomed the move for WCED to adopt the policy.
“Schools, where possible, should make it more inclusive for LGBTQ+ learners,” Basil Manuel, Naptosa's executive director said.
"But there must be engagements about this with the parents and learners of the school community to ensure that the decision of the school to include the admission of LGBTQI+ learners is understood by all parties involved,” he said.
Anlia Archer, from Solidarity's education department, said although they supported the department’s stance on making schools more inclusive for the gay community, the guidelines were not properly drafted as yet.
Equal Education (EE) and the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) said the draft guidelines in their entirety would most likely not withstand constitutional scrutiny.
The EELC said it wasn’t happy with the language used in the draft policy.
“All binary pronouns, such as ‘his’ or ‘her’ in the draft guidelines must be changed to the non-binary terms them, their or they,“ said Tshegofatso Phala of EELC.
The ACDP in the province has objected to the proposed policy.
Last year, they staged a picket outside the Provincial Legislature holding up signs that read. "Down with the gender identity and sexual orientation guidelines“ ,“Down with unisex bathrooms" and "God created male and female".