Johannesburg – While some pupils in KwaZulu -Natal were forced to turn back because their schools were uninhabitable in the aftermath of the violent looting two weeks ago, delays in allocating surplus teachers in core subjects have also disrupted the resumption of the 2021 school calendar.
Teachers unions said dire teacher shortages had also impacted the functioning of school governing bodies who now must use their funds to employ temporary teachers to ease the heavy burden.
Also compounding the situation were teachers with comorbidities who had not reported for duty.
“We are already in the third term and there is a considerable number of schools that desperately need teachers. The department is dragging its feet. We have been raising serious concerns and this is negatively affecting learners’ progress. Some teachers are struggling with the load of subjects,” said Thirona Moodley, speaking on behalf of the National Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa in KwaZulu -Natal.
The National Teachers Union (Natu) raised similar sentiments, saying scores of pupils were turned back this week because mobile classrooms had not been provided at the schools that were vandalised.
“We won’t allow teachers and learners to attend in dilapidated classrooms. Last year, when we were hit hard by Covid-19, we pleaded with the department to make provision for mobile classrooms. Many schools are congested and overcrowded,” said Natu general secretary Cynthia Barnes.
The SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) said teacher shortages had reached crisis levels. “The information we have points to a terrible situation in which there are still schools that have not received teachers.
The outcry from school principals is also that the department has not appointed substitute educators.
“These issues, coupled together, mean that some schools in the province have not been teaching some of the subjects. This is a serious matter, which has crippled many schools,” said Sadtu provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza.
Meanwhile, education advocacy group Equal Education said financial and infrastructural priorities need to be rearranged with budgets needing to be diverted from other projects.
“Consequently, learners lose more classroom time, the effects of which are compounded by the already lost teaching and learning time caused by Covid-19-related school closures,” said Tarryn Cooper-Bell, senior attorney at Equal Education law centre.
She added that the KwaZulu-Natal department of education is already behind in meeting its obligations as it relates to the norms and standards for school infrastructure.
The KwaZulu-Natal department of education could not be drawn into shedding light on the state of affairs of schools in the province, despite being requested to do so by Sunday World.
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