Concern for matrics as teachers stay off

ALMOST 6 000 teachers in KwaZulu-Natal, who are deemed vulnerable to Covid-19 due to age or co-morbidities, have applied to the department to be allowed to stay home.

This is according to a written response by Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu to questions posed in the provincial legislature which also revealed that 1400 teachers were working from home.

This has prompted unions to express concern that not all matric pupils will be ready to write the final exams as the Department of Basic Education had allegedly failed to provide schools with additional teachers to tackle the higher workload due to smaller classes and to substitute those who are not at work because they are at high risk of contracting Covid-19.

National Teachers Union president Allen Thompson said yesterday it was “very concerned” about the plight of Grade 12 pupils and would meet Umalusi next week to discuss their readiness to write the exams.

The exams are scheduled to start on November 5.

Several unions raised concern that substitute and additional teachers had not been supplied nationally to stand in for teachers over the age of 60 who have comorbidities, and have opted to take advantage of a collective agreement to stay at home during the pandemic.

They said Grade 12 teachers were also overworked because they were forced to teach subject material up to five times, as they had to repeat it for the subdivided matric classes. Thompson said teachers who were at school were “being punished” with heavy workloads.

“Teachers are now finding it difficult to prepare pupils for exams because of the high levels of anxiety. Those who have never taught matric are forced to teach,” Thompson said.

“Apart from employing substitute teachers, the department was supposed to employ additional teachers and unfortunately they have not.”

He said in some cases Grade 11 teachers had been “compelled” to “occupy” Grade 12 pupils in the classroom as they were not suitably qualified to teach them. “The right of pupils to learn is being compromised when a small group of people are expected to cover the work of people with comorbidities, who have been given the allowance to stay at home. The ones at work are being punished,” he said.

Thompson said the union would also be meeting Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande next week to discuss university entrance concessions for 2020 matriculants.

“We are also intending to write to the National Treasury to ask it to supply all the provincial departments of education with an extra budget strictly for the employment of more teachers.”

South African Democratic Teachers Union spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said the union was concerned about matric exam readiness as in the last survey it had conducted only 62% of principals indicated they were “confident” the curriculum would have been covered in time.

It was also concerned about the availability of additional teachers as those teaching matric were “quite stretched.” Cembi said the union wanted the exams to start a week later than November 5.

National Professional Teachers Organisation of SA KwaZulu-Natal chief executive Thirona Moodley said many schools in the province were struggling to get substitute teachers.

“The challenge is the substitute forms are being filled out and sent to districts by the principals but they are not getting the substitutes and we don’t know what the delay is, whether it’s all the admin or a lack of capacity on the side of the department to act quickly,” she said.

Department of Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said: “We will address all issues later in the week once the minister has met MECs.”

In his response to questions posed by the DA, Mshengu said the department needed to create posts for substitute teachers.

“In addition to the existing substitute posts which must also be used to cater for educators who proceed on sick, incapacity and maternity leave, it is imperative that a further 4 000 posts be created at a cost of R974 million for six months.”

Mshengu said there were currently 5970 educators who have applied to stay home, 284 of these teachers were over the age of 60 and with no comorbidities.

He said the department had approached treasury for the creation of the 4000 posts.