Fears of school disruptions

THE DEPARTMENT of Basic Education (DBE) yesterday expressed concern at today’s looming nationwide strike.

With the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) backing the strike, the DBE said it was extremely concerning that schools faced the real threat of disruption.

“It is extremely concerning that schools face the real threat of disruption. We hope it will not be the case because teachers know the practical implications of halting teaching and learning. We hope the situation will be resolved without impacting negatively on school activities. We urge those protesting to do so without disrupting schools,” department spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, said.

The demands of the strike, which will be led by Cosatu, include the halting of retrenchments, retention of current jobs and creation of new job opportunities, among others.

In a statement pledging its support, Sadtu said it will champion the fight against overcrowded classrooms and school safety at the nationwide strike.

“In the education sector, our members continue to teach in overcrowded classrooms or mass meetings due to post provisioning norms that create fewer teaching posts. We will use the march to call for increased safety measures in our schools and to urge communities as well as government to protect them,” said the teachers’ union.

Spokesperson for the Northern Cape Department of Education, Lehuma Ntuane, said that as this was a national strike, the Province would not be excluded. “We expect that it will affect the education fraternity in the Province, but this will not be the same across all schools.”

Ntuane added that the department was concerned with teaching time that was being lost as a result of various issues.