Q&A
Why are you joining the strike against the unbundling of Eskom?
Are we?
Why did your KwaZulu-Natal branch tell members to participate?
We can only join the strike once Cosatu has declared that there is going to be a strike. If Cosatu says there must be marches around the unbundling, then we will take a decision. We are workers and workers have to pledge solidarity with other workers.
At what point do you put the interests of learners first?
You put the interests of the learners first by protecting jobs.
Do you want a situation where learners have no teachers because they’re out marching?
No we don’t. Anything that will impact on teachers and learners has got to be discussed.
How does unbundling Eskom affect teachers?
Not directly, but …
President Cyril Ramaphosa says improving education must be a priority. Do you agree?
That has always been our priority.
Doesn’t this mean improving the quality of teaching?
It means improving the quality of teaching and quality of learning.
Does this mean allowing inspectors to assess the competence of teachers?
Inspectors are only about managerial.
So your policy of not allowing inspectors to assess the quality of teaching stands?
We associate with subject advisers in our schools, with developmental officers in our schools, with psycho-social services in our schools who empower the teachers and support them to grow …
Is all this producing the kind of competent teachers we need?
It is not working in the manner we would have liked, but that is a systemic problem. It’s how the teachers have been trained, and the support that is given in the form of resources, and how parents are preparing their children to go to school and do their work. Inspectors by their nature are faultfinding and not supporting.
Isn’t it because we don’t have inspectors that the quality of teaching is so bad?
We used to have a 27% pass rate in the homelands when inspectors were there. We have seen an improvement in the quality of teaching.
Is this why 78% of grade 4 learners don’t understand what they’re reading?
If you force children to do a language they’re not speaking at home …
They can’t read for meaning in any language.
If you look at those learners who are doing education from the foundation in their own mother tongue, they are able to read with meaning.
Research shows 78% can’t read for meaning even in their home language.
It’s because you have not given them the fundamentals to improve their vocabulary or cognitive comprehension …
What about maths?
The problem is systemic. Teachers have not been given the proper tools to understand the curriculum.