Budget up R1bn, but Bhisho slashes teacher posts

BHISHO has slashed the number of teaching jobs by more than 1 000 next year despite the budget for salaries increasing by R1-billion.

This has angered the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), which vowed that “heads will roll” in the department, referring to MEC Mandla Makupula and his administration led by acting head of department Ray Tywakadi.

Makupula announced this week that jobs would drop from this year’s 55 796 to 54 747 in 2016. He attributed this to ongoing challenges faced by his department and said the move was part of its efforts to deal “with inherited structural inefficiencies in the utilisation of its fiscal resources”.

The financial burden, he said, was largely due to more than 2 000 excess teachers, who needed to be moved to where they were needed, retirements and resignations.

“As these inefficiencies have not yet been completely eliminated, the elevated demand for teacher posts exercises significant pressure on budgetary resources, making it impossible to address the needs for non-educator posts in schools,” Makupula said.

This pressure on the budget from the provision for teaching posts has also resulted in a skewed overall provision for the costs of employees.

In his statement, Makupula did not include the budget allocations for next year’s posts. However, the Daily Dispatch has learnt R1-billion more was allocated.

Department spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said a total of R21-billion had been allocated for the salary bill. He asked that further questions be e-mailed to him, but a response had not been received at the time of writing yesterday.

Addressing about 300 school principals at the East London International Convention Centre on Tuesday, Sadtu provincial task team chairman Thabile Kunene said: “The staff establishment made by the MEC and his employees was [made by people who] closed their eyes and ears.

“Sadtu is not accepting it and heads will roll. We will lodge a formal dispute to challenge the declaration,” Kunene said.

He said a critical teaching jobs advert released by the department to schools did not cover all vacancies available and urged school principals to submit vacancies to their nearest Sadtu offices.

Provincial secretary of the Suid-Afrikaans Onderwysersunie (SAOU), Barbara van der Walt, said: “We at the SAOU with great concern take note of the declaration by the MEC. We hoped and pleaded for the same number of posts as this year. The logic of it was to stabilise education in the province.

“With 1 049 less posts, it will surely create more teachers in excess.”—