Teachers warned about infringing books Copyright Act

MANZINI – As the opening of schools draws closer, teachers have been urged to respect the copyright of books’ publishers and stick to the teacher/pupil ratio policy of 1:45.

SNAT President Mbongwa Dlamini said as the secretary general had highlighted the difficulties they faced as teachers at the workplace; including lack of working tools like books, unavailability of food and shortage of teachers, among other things, he would like to warn them to be cautious because they might find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

He said they had noted as leaders that since there was a shortage of books in schools, some teachers would photocopy it for the pupils so that they could be able to teach. “That is a crime. Every book’s copyright is reserved for the publisher, not anyone else. So, tell those who give you orders to photocopy the books that you do not want to break the law,” the SNAT president said.

He said they should not be scared to be charged with insubordination because avoiding breaking the law would not amount to that offence. He said insubordination had to do with failing to take lawful orders. He argued that refusing to take an order that could lend one in jail, could not amount to insubordination.

On the same note, another educator submitted that as teachers, they were busy complaining that they were overworked, yet they were the ones who were breaking the teacher/pupil ratio policy. He said the teacher/ pupil ratio policy says a teacher has to teach a maximum of 45 pupils. “However, in schools, we find teachers teaching a class of 90 pupils. I say if you go to class and find that the pupils are over 45, no one can charge us if we take the remainder out because that is what the policy is saying,” the educator said.

He added that by teaching pupils who were over 45, they deprived the unemployed teachers a chance to be employed.

Once more, another teacher said like the president said, they should be teachers eight hours a day. By this he said he meant that they should stop taking school work at home and the tendency by many to work on weekends. He said the cause of this was that they fail to stick to the teacher/pupil ration policy. “We are chewing more than what we can swallow,” the educator said.