Why the delay in school posts?

THE DA wants to know why the successful applicants for as many as 800 senior posts at schools in KwaZulu-Natal have still not been announced.

Earlier this week, The Mercury reported that posts – including heads of department, deputy principals and principals for 2017 – have yet to be announced. As a result, the applicants and the schools were facing challenges in planning for next year.

DA MPL Mbali Ntuli said yesterday the party, which is “extremely disappointed”, would be submitting a written parliamentary question to Education MEC Mthandeni Dlungwana.

“Our province’s schools cannot afford to have critical posts unfilled. Nor can any of them afford to start the academic year unprepared”.

Ntuli also said the province’s school children were already facing challenges.

“That they should now face a situation where schools are not organised and up and running, with teaching taking place from day one, is not acceptable,” she said.

Ntuli said the DA wanted to know the full extent of the issue, why it had been allowed to happen and what the department planned short-term.

Incompetence

When questioned on the matter earlier this week, the spokesman for Education in KZN, Muzi Mahlambi, said the school governing bodies (SGBs) were to compile shortlists, conduct interviews and make recommendations. He was adamant that successful applicants had been announced.

But the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (Fedsas) has since hit back. It said the issue was the result of the provincial Education Department’s administrative incompetence.

“According to our information the department’s claim is unfounded,” deputy chief executive Dr Jaco Deacon said.

Fedsas said six of its member schools confirmed their SGBs had made the recommendations before the deadline.

“The department has confirmed that the recommendations were received. The holdup is at the department.”

Deacon said Fedsas informed the department that the current format of the appointment process was not ideal. The federation believed there should be four processes each year to enable schools to fill positions timeously.

“The current process cannot accommodate the sheer number of vacant positions.”

He said the federation was willing to be involved in training school governing bodies in the province, including at non-member schools.