By Anele Kunene
Mid-year exams in rural and township schools in KwaZulu-Natal have been disrupted as the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) says their members won’t continue with work until the Department of Basic Education has paid what’s owed to teachers and schools.
SADTU says the government’s failure to provide basic finance allocation has crippled the schools’ abilities to pay service providers for supplies that include stationery, Grade R practitioners and the feeding scheme.
“We ended up as a Union writing to the Premier asking for his intervention, the meeting with the premier was on Tuesday and through that meeting we got an opportunity to give the details of the challenges the schools are going through,” says Nomarashiya Caluza, SADTU KZN provincial secretary.
She further says that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has ‘collapsed’ even though they’re hopeful that some assistance will come.
“We are certain that now an amount of R900 million will be made available, that money will be collected from other departments as an intervention to assist the department of education,” said Nomarashiya Caluza, SADTU KZN provincial secretary.
Teachers say they have had to dip into their personal finances to ensure that teaching and learning happen.
“As the staff we are at work, but we are staggering and dragging ourselves, the teachers use breaktimes to come together and complain about what the department of education is doing. As principals we end up using money from our pockets to fund the school for things like grass cutting and electricity,” said Mandla Kunene, principal of Thekelisulwazi High School.
Lehlogonolo Rapoho, a Grade 12 learner from Ikusasalethu Secondary School, said that this might risk her university applications.
“I think it will have a negative impact because I won’t have a June report if this continues, most universities need that June report when you apply, so now if I don’t have one, I don’t think any university will accept me.”
SADTU is yet to meet with the head of the department to discuss a way forward for exams after they have received the funds.
