INVESTIGATION INTO CLASSES
WITHOUT TEACHERS GETS UNDERWAY
7 August 1998
An investigation into the number of
classes without teachers, which is being conducted by a task group
consisting of union representatives and provincial education
authorities, and facilitated by Nedlac, is underway in Kwa-Zulu
Natal.
Six regions have been selected for the investigation. They are
Ulundi; Durban North, Durban South; Ladysmith; Vryheid and
Empangeni. A task team was going on a site visit to Vryheid today,
to investigate a school which union officials claim exists, but
which does not appear on any provincial education department
documentation. They will also investigate the effect of
re-organisation at certain schools.
The task team will meet again on Tuesday 11August in
Pietermaritzburg, to share the information gained, and to establish
whether there is a need to conduct investigations in the Free
State, Gauteng and Western Cape provinces. They will also discuss
the situation at Ulundi and how the investigation should proceed in
that region, where the report received from the teacher unions
reflects an alarming situation, with some teachers occupying up to
three posts at different schools,and with classes sizes of 140-150
pupils.
Background
Following the withdrawal of the section 77(1)(d)notices to
proceed with protest action by the South African Democratic
Teachers Union(Sadtu) and the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie
(SAOU) in June, Nedlac, the unions andgovernment embarked upon a
process to address the concerns that had given rise to the
notices.
One of the issues of concern wasthe
amount of input unions had in education budgeting. Between the
7th and 10thJuly, the Education Labour
Relations Council hosted a three-day workshop, facilitated bythe
Nedlac Secretariat. Representatives of three teacher unions,
including Sadtu and SAOU,national and provincial governments
deliberated on the medium-term expenditure framework education
budgets. Particular emphasis was placed on the implications of
budgets for theprovisioning of teacher posts, and issues of equity,
redress and transformation of education delivery.
Another area of concern is being addressed through the
investigation into classes without teachers. Four provinces were
targeted:KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Gauteng and Mpumulanga.