Model used to hire teachers blamed for educational challenges

THE Eastern Cape Department of Education must consider reviewing the relevance and effectiveness of the Peter Morkel model on post-provision norms.

This was the advice of the Bhisho Legislature’s portfolio committee on education last week.

The portfolio committee was tabling its report on school visits after going to 146 schools in 23 districts this year.

The model used to hire teachers, which goes according to the number of pupils at a particular school, was flawed, the committee’s report said.

This was because teachers should be hired based on the number of pupils per grade and subject.

The model had created a crisis in the system in that there were teachers teaching subjects that were not in line with their areas of expertise.

Parents were then forking out money from their own pockets to hire suitably qualified teachers.

The recommendation comes hot on the heels of MEC Mandla Makupula’s announcement that R420-million set aside to hire additional teachers would use the Morkel method.

The Peter Morkel model was to blame for challenges facing education in the province, the committee said.

“The human resource model being used as a basis for post-provisioning focuses on the overall number of pupils in a school and not on the distribution of pupils as per grades and subjects,” the report, presented by committee chairman Fundile Gade, said.

“This situation is to the pupils’ disadvantage,” the report said.

“They have to make do without the relevant educators for some subjects, not receiving individual attention and being taught by educators who sometimes do not possess the required qualifications or competencies for certain grades.

“As a result, parents have to supplement school funding to employ additional suitably qualified educators.”

The Peter Morkel model has come under attack from education stakeholders, with leading teachers union Sadtu the most vocal.

“The Department of Education has failed for more than five years to review the Peter Morkel model dealing with post-provisioning norms,” the union’s national executive committee said in 2015, calling for the model to be abolished.

“This lack of commitment is destroying education.”

In March 2012, Makupula said: “If the Peter Morkel model is not working in our situation, such a systemic problem must be dealt with in the upcoming policy conference of the ruling party which will review among others these education policies.”

The ANC Mangaung conference in December 2012 resolved that the model be done away with.