KZN teachers on merry-go-round

Several KwaZulu-Natal schools do not have the required number of teachers.

According to the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), the department’s failure to deal with their redistribution as school numbers rise and fall was the cause.

Sadtu provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza yesterday told a press conference in Durban the union was concerned about the manner in which the KwaZulu-Natal education department was handling the redistribution of staff.

Teachers were being moved as school enrolment increased at some schools while it decreased at others, resulting in a change in the staff complement.

She said that while the union understood staff would have to be moved, it was concerned at the way the department was going about it.

“The employer has not developed the requisite capacity to deal with this exercise yearly, and the situation deteriorates and collapses in the hands of those who are expected to be efficient,” said Caluza.

“These institutional deficiencies, camouflaged in promises and announcements, are not made to benefit the pupil.”

Caluza cited one incident in Newcastle’s Amajuba district where, because schooling numbers had dropped, the department ordered that one of the heads of department (HOD) be moved to another school.

The problem, according to Caluza, was that this HOD was the only person qualified to teach maths and science. His moving would leave the school with no one to teach these critical subjects.

She said such poor administration was affecting schools.

“That is why we are having this yo-yo style when it comes to matric results,” she said.

According to the secretary, the problem of teacher redistribution mainly affected rural and township schools.

She said these schools were not in a position to collect school fees, so that where the department fell short they could fill the gap.

“Teachers carry the burden of staff shortages, as they have to contend with overcrowded classes while the employer is frantically redistributing teachers endlessly.”

She said the department needed to reassess the way it handled the redistribution, playing havoc with teachers’ lives and negatively impacting pupils.