Teachers under fire in every way

MOST South Africans are struggling to overcome obstacles during the troubled times of Covid-19. Thousands of our educators are not immune – they have been faced with a mountain of challenges for years.

The dynamic Caps curriculum, rather than a rigid set of academic guidelines, encompasses content, competencies and essential skills required for the holistic development of learners. In short, 21st-century educators are accountable for a learner’s overall development, laying the foundation for life-long learning.

Amid these challenges, our educators soldier on.

In the Western Cape, our members – totalling more than 13 000 in six regions with 27 branches and 1 400 public and private schools and tertiary institutions – are not immune to the daily struggles of other workers.

They battle against overcrowded classrooms; lack of textbooks and learner support material, which teachers often supplement out of their own pockets; inadequate infrastructure at schools; violence, including attacks by learners on educators; gang violence; vandalism; racial attacks; and threats against female teachers.

Schools in Manenberg, for example, have for years been caught in the cross-hairs of gang violence.

At one stage, five desperate schools took the Western Cape Education Department to court, demanding it provide adequate security for learners and teachers caught in a gang turf war. The court initially granted the interim order, but rescinded it after WCED argued that the court order placed unrealistic demands on the department.

But the problems have not disappeared.

Many educators on the Cape Flats have noted violent attitudes, drug abuse and gangsterism spilling over into schools, where learners display and copy gangster lifestyles. Teachers experience abuse at work daily, with an astonishing 90% saying they received verbal or physical abuse from learners.

Learners are taught the “duck and roll” method to avoid being hit by bullets when gangs fight on school premises. They describe these attacks in gruesome detail during news periods in class. Often learners remain in classrooms to avoid stray bullets.

Educators have reported several horrific incidents in Khayelitsha, Manenberg, Bonteheuwel, Heideveld and Valhalla Park schools:

In Khayelitsha between 2018 and 2019, there were several robberies at schools. In one, teachers were robbed at gunpoint in the staff room of cellphones, laptops and other valuables.

In Grabouw, the staff at Umyezo Wama Apile High School continue to work in fear after their principal was shot dead about two months ago.

And in Hanover Park, where there are frequent violent outbreaks, learners are exposed to gang shootings and physical attacks.

There are high levels of anxiety among educators, but they remain committed to the profession.

Against this backdrop of hardship, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced a planned wage freeze in the public sector, flying in the face of a three-year multi-term wage deal struck in 2018.

The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) and other trade unions have argued in court that the state’s refusal to implement the third leg of the deal is unethical and smacks of bad faith. It is also a violation of the constitutional right to fair labour practice and the right to bargain.

Is it any wonder that teachers do not feel valued and believe the state is taking them for granted?

The state’s indifferent attitude to the educators’ plight led Sadtu in its Ninth National Congress last year to adopt the theme “Claiming Our Right to Have Our Human Dignity and Safety Protected and Respected in Pursuit of a Decolonised, Quality Public Education”.

Sadtu plans to do everything in its power to realise the theme, not only for our members, but all educators.