Bread, butter issues affecting results - SNAT

MANZINI – The stumbling block to achieving good results in schools are the neglected bread and butter issues, says the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT).

SNAT Secretary General (SG) Lot Vilakati said there was an urgent need for the recruitment of 4 000 teachers to fill vacancies within the sector. He said the vacancies they were referring to resulted in those on the ground experiencing extra workload.

Vilakati said another issue which needed to be addressed was the recruitment of teachers on permanent basis, as those recruited on contract had their contracts lapsing, which resulted in new teachers coming in. This, he said, affected the momentum which the learners and pupils had, while also contributing to contract teachers being de-motivated.

Allowances

“The issue of allowances, lack of housing facilities in schools and the high cost of living, affected the productivity of teachers. So, in essence, all the things we’ve been calling for to be addressed, need attention for better results in schools,” Vilakati said.

The SG said teachers were also parents, and that they wanted the learners to do well academically, so that they could explore any opportunities they sought to pursue.

However, he said, without resolving these challenges, it became hard to meet some of the targets as teachers became more stressed about their welfare, which then affected their work.

Vilakati said they were pinning their hopes on the commitments made by the Minister of Education and Training, Owen Nxumalo, to address these issues, which he reiterated that it would lead to great results. The SG said this when responding to this publication on what SNAT proposed should be done to alter the Form V results for the better, as they were said to be the worst in the past six years. He was also asked what the teachers wanted done by the union for them to be motivated and encouraged to do differently this year, to ensure that their learners were better equipped.

On the other hand, President of the Eswatini Principals Association (EPA) Welcome Mhlanga said the Eswatini General Certificate in Secondary Education (EGCSE), being the worst in the past six years, was not one-sided. Mhlanga said the genesis of the poor performance was that the Class of 2023 had one-year of fulltime learning, due to the impact of COVID-19. He said this had a negative impact, as it emphasised on the disparities in rural and urban schools. The EPA president said the best performing pupils in the Class of 2023 were from urban schools, which depicted that they were able to engage in blended learning, while those from rural schools were not accessible to some tools which ensured learning continued despite the challenges that were brought by COVID-19.

“This is the main challenge and it cost the pupils over two years of fulltime learning,” he said.

It is worth noting that during the year 2021, the country also experienced the June/July political unrest, which resulted in delayed learning activities.

Subsequent to that, some schools were also targeted and burnt and some of their infrastructure was damaged, which resulted in extended closure of the schools.

Meanwhile, Mhlanga further said the challenges which Cabinet ministers have been exposed to in their field trips to establish the state of schools last month, were also the reasons for the poor results.

He said: “It is unfortunate that the institutional housing neglects the teaching cadre, as most teachers in rural schools walk long distances to their workplaces, as they lease houses within homesteads. Where there is transport, the teachers are not reimbursed their money.”

Furthermore, he said the shortage of teachers was a reality and a miracle could not be expected if schools would open and be without teachers for the first month.

Shortage

Making an example, Mhlanga said next week, some schools would be writing their first tests for the year and there were those who had a shortage of teachers.

Rhetorically, he asked: “What will the learners write as they have not been learning anything?”

The EPA president said it was essential that when schools opened, all resources were available. Yesterday, this publication reported that the 2023 EGCSE and IGCSE results were the worst in the past six years. This is based on a significant drop of 4.25 per cent and 8.25 per cent, respectively.

The results showed a decline in the 2023 EGCSE pass rate that was recorded at 88.33 per cent, when compared to the previous year (2022), where it was at 92.58 per cent. The overall pass rate in the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) programme was 84.07, while in 2022 it was 92.32.