Teachers not in school!
Posted on: Friday, 16 May 2008
Article source: Duncan Hindle
Article source: Duncan Hindle
The Department of Education is horrified to receive a copy of a notice issued by South African Democratic Union (SADTU), calling all its KZN-Northern Natal members to a Teacher Forum on the 6th of March, a school-day, starting at 10am.
The notice of the meeting was sent to us by a concerned school principal, who noted that a 10 am start meant that most members would leave school without doing any teaching at all. At his school, over 10 classes of learners were left unattended for the entire day. The victims, in almost every case, are poor learners, and the vast majority affected are Africans.
We must make it absolutely clear that there are no agreements of any sort which allow for this kind of irresponsible behaviour, as claimed by the Regional Secretary of SADTU. The personnel measures state, unambiguously, that “an educator shall give his or her full attention to the duties entrusted to him or her and shall not, without the consent of the head of the institution, be absent from his or her school during the hours of official duty.” Put simply, any time off school, for whatever reason, requires the written, prior approval of the Department, which in this case was neither requested nor given.
SADTU often makes statements about quality education for all, but these kind of actions are not going to achieve that goal. The national leadership of SADTU has spoken out about the need for focused “time on task” as part of the non-negotiables in education, and we therefore look forward to them taking severe action against their members who have clearly contravened this policy position, and in doing so, have undermined that national struggle for quality education for all.
The notice of the meeting was sent to us by a concerned school principal, who noted that a 10 am start meant that most members would leave school without doing any teaching at all. At his school, over 10 classes of learners were left unattended for the entire day. The victims, in almost every case, are poor learners, and the vast majority affected are Africans.
We must make it absolutely clear that there are no agreements of any sort which allow for this kind of irresponsible behaviour, as claimed by the Regional Secretary of SADTU. The personnel measures state, unambiguously, that “an educator shall give his or her full attention to the duties entrusted to him or her and shall not, without the consent of the head of the institution, be absent from his or her school during the hours of official duty.” Put simply, any time off school, for whatever reason, requires the written, prior approval of the Department, which in this case was neither requested nor given.
SADTU often makes statements about quality education for all, but these kind of actions are not going to achieve that goal. The national leadership of SADTU has spoken out about the need for focused “time on task” as part of the non-negotiables in education, and we therefore look forward to them taking severe action against their members who have clearly contravened this policy position, and in doing so, have undermined that national struggle for quality education for all.
Issued by Duncan Hindle, Director General
National Department of Education
