‘Teachers must stop focusing on just labour issues’
TEACHERS must fulfil their professional responsibility to quality education and not in a “narrow and self-interested” way focus solely on labour issues.
This is the opinion of Mbuyiseni Mathonsi, provincial secretary of the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu), the country’s biggest teachers’ untion
Mathonsi said the mindset had to shift from pre1994 politics of protest and “crude” union demands and principles, towards nation-building.
“There has had to be intensive teacher development, [coupled with] a paradigm shift, ideologically speaking, to build a particular teacher cadre.
“There are people who joined us because they thought Sadtu was promoting mediocrity. They thought that we were marching for salaries. And, to a particular extent, that’s how we have been known,” Mathonsi said during an interview with The Mercury.
“You still have teachers who have not crossed 1994. The approach of Sadtu since 2008 has been not only as a fighter improving the conditions of workers, which is narrow and self-interested, but also [to encourage]… taking responsibility for the building of a nation… Our taking over in 2009, this generation of mine, is faced with the task of being the best of both worlds.”
Of KZN’s 89 000 teachers, Sadtu claims 60 000 as members.
Of the argument that teacher unionisation had been to the detriment of professionalism, Mathonsi conceded: “That’s what people think, because to a particular extent it has been true.”
“We are the majority union… we are a two-thirds majority. So… if there’s a failure rate… we must be blamed two thirds of the time.”
Referring to initiatives such as winter holiday revision classes for pupils, and teacher subject committees, Mathonsi argued for the importance of the organisation as an education stakeholder. He revealed that Sadtu had requested that the department put
school admissions on the back burner – a matter on which he said the union had not been consulted.
The debate about a first come, first served policy led Mathonsi to question why pupils from rural and townships areas should have to attend “faraway schools” in pursuit of better education. In the event that a move to integrate pupils materialised, it should be along socio-economic rather than racial lines, Mathonsi said, adding that Sadtu would then suggest children of “domestic workers, gardeners, tea ladies and security guards” who worked in middle-class suburbs be allowed to attend “opulent schools free of charge”.
Sadtu has also asked that the rationalisation of schools be halted so that teachers’ unions and governing bodies could have their say.
The rationalisation process will involve merging, splitting and closing so-called non-viable schools.
At the time of the interview, Mathonsi had just submitted input on a draft amendment to introduce competency tests for matric markers.
In short, “it is wrong on all legs. In diagnosis, prescription and conceptualisation. It is wrong left, right and centre, and all around”.