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KZN schools face challenges ahead of reopening
Just three days before schools reopen on Wednesday, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has confirmed that there are challenges in terms of school readiness.
The department says it is working around the clock with unions to mitigate the impact.
Spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi says they are in constant contact with the unions to review plans to ensure a smooth start of the new school year. He says they will rely on all teachers and schools to come up with a plan to recover lost time in the classroom.
VIDEO | SA schools reopen on Wednesday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpkUtJo7Gpc
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) in KwaZulu-Natal claims that at least 50 percent of schools in the province have not received learning and teaching support materials.
The union says this will effectively delay the start of the new academic year for many of the affected schools, and as a result, it intends to take legal action against the Departments of Education and Finance.
SADTU reports that at least 50 percent of surveyed schools are not ready, as they’ve not yet received critical learning and teaching materials, including stationery and textbooks.
Most of those affected are the no-fee schools.
KZN SADTU Secretary Nomarashiya Caluza says, “When schools reopen on Wednesday, the majority of the schools will not be in a position to teach, and parents must be aware of this. We know that everyone, including parliamentarians, will be all over wanting to check the state of readiness. But for what? because they know that the norms and standards have not been paid.”
SADTU also accuses the Department of Finance’s procurement policy imposed on the department for delaying learner support material orders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_aVyOPm-V8
Last year, Treasury imposed strict financial controls on the education department to curb overspending. The Department also received an R800 million bail out to prevent what unions had called a collapse of the system.
SADTU is now planning to take the matter to court.
“We are approaching the court so that the Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal can be brought back to order to ensure that they respect the Constitution, they respect the South African schools Act, they respect policies. We know the department is supposed to pay the norms and standards by may of the financial year and again in october of the same year in preparation for the new year,” Caluza adds.
The Education Department says it’s working around the clock to resolve the problem. It says it’s working together with unions and has requested assistance on a recovery plan to make up for lost time, if needed.
