Teachers serving as councillors must resign
TEACHERS who also work as municipal councillors should leave the Department of Education immediately because they are doing a disservice to both municipalities and schools.
This was the sentiment of University of Zululand’s Prof Silo Kutami in his keynote address at the King Cetshwayo District Achievement Awards function at uMfolozi TVET College last week.
He said the challenges affecting the functioning of schools and different municipalities are largely as a result of teachers who are parttime councillors.
‘There is no way you can have an effective teacher who is also an effective councillor. These are two different roles that require complete attention.
‘People must decide where they want to be.
‘We can’t be gambling with the future of our children. Teachers need to be at schools at all times teaching and building the nation.
‘We want a generation of teachers who will work as a collective and share knowledge and expertise for the benefit of our learners.’
Education District Director David Chonco praised the schools that raised the bar for the district, particularly those who are in deep rural areas.
‘We produced 3 700 matrics qualifying for bachelors degree studies last year and there is a commitment from all of us to increase this number to 4 000 this year, with special emphasis on mathematics and science.’