SOCIAL CONTRACT FOR EDUCATION

MEDIA STATEMENT ON MONDAY 11 JANUARY 2010 AT THE MIDRAND PROTEA HOTEL BY THE PRESIDENTS OF NAPTOSA, MR EZRA RAMASEHLA, SADTU, MR THOBILE NTOLA, AND SAOU, DR JOPIE BREED

The three unions with a national presence in all nine provinces of South Africa and representing more than 312,000 educators, affirm their unequivocal commitment to the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC), and reassure the public that 2010 will see a practical expression of that commitment.

They wish to do more than that, however - additionally, they wish to commit themselves to dedicated professionalism and the development of a true culture of learning, teaching and  discipline in public schools, both on the part of their members, and on the part of the learners. A quality education system is non-negotiable and therefore quality at all levels must be attained to ensure that South Africa can take its rightful place in the world.

A quality education system wherein all role players comply with their respective duties and responsibilities distinguishes winning nations, and the unions wish for South Africa to be a winning nation based on the principles enshrined in our Constitution. This commitment cannot be made in a vacuum. For the commitment to be successful, all the social partners in education (the education authorities, parent communities and the learners themselves) must also play their part.

The unions therefore express their willingness to enter into a social contract with the other social partners in education. The aim would be to establish all schools in SA as centres of excellence, or at the very least demand that schools must draft a realistic plan of action to improve the quality of education within the shortest possible time.

Grade 12 results for 2009

The less than satisfactory Grade 12 results for 2009 underline the necessity for urgent intervention.  If it is noted that approximately 1.4 million learners entered the system in Grade 1, the pass figure of 334,718 learners means that only approximately 24% were able to complete the NSC in the minimum of 12 years.  The through flow rate of approximately 24% is symptomatic of an ineffective education system. 

The reality is that there are no quick fixes for a large education system.  The shortest possible period for dramatically improved results will in all probability be at least in 5 to 6 years.  Realistically, it points to 12 years as the quality of the Grade 12 results are based on the quality of learning and teaching in all 12 grades.  Therefore urgent attention to quality learning and teaching in all 12 grades, including the professional management of schools, is an absolute necessity.

Commitment by Educators

Educators have always, and will always, play a pivotal role in any education system, and  therefore on behalf of their members the unions commit to the following, i.e. that

1.    absenteeism among educators will be addressed and it will be required of all educators to complete attendance registers;

2.    school management teams will complete and implement school time tables in the shortest possible time to ensure that schools can commence with their academic programmes from the first formal day of the new school term;

3.    unacceptable and unprofessional conduct by educators will not be tolerated, and that their members can not expect that the unions will protect guilty educators in an unquestionable manner;

4.    educators will strive to be positive role models to learners as well as in their respective communities;

5.    school feeding schemes will be properly administered and managed in a transparent and equitable manner;

6.    the appropriate LTSM will be provided to learners in the shortest time possible;

7.    educators will prepare for classes in a manner that can be expected of dedicated professional educators;

8.    educators will comply with their administrative responsibilities to ensure that schools and learners are not disadvantaged;

9.    educators and schools will enforce the appropriate codes of conduct at all schools to ensure that learners will abide by fair and equitable school rules; and

10.  educators will attend relevant in-service training courses regarding the curriculum and school management to ensure that they are able to teach and manage  in the most effective manner.

Requisite support from educational authorities

No education system can show meaningful progress unless the bureaucracy provides the required support to educators and schools. The respective provincial departments of education provide the enabling environment that make it possible for schools to provide quality education. If such support is absent, or is not of an acceptable standard, schools find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to provide quality education. Therefore, the unions require the following commitment from the national department and nine provincial departments of education, i.e: that -

1.    district offices must be able to provide the required quality curriculum and managerial infrastructure to be able to objectively support schools, school governing bodies, principals and educators;

2.    departmental officials must exhibit the required curriculum and managerial competence to be able to act as professional education mentors;

3.    the required in-service training courses must be developed and timeously presented by competent and knowledgeable officials to principals and educators;

4.    appropriate remedial steps will be implemented to support underperforming schools in a professional and contemporaneous manner to develop the capacity of such school communities;

5.    LTSM be provided correctly and timeously to schools;

6.    post provisioning norms be provided timeously to ensure that schools are not unnecessarily disrupted;

7.    the school allocations (funding) be provided correctly and timeously according to the national prescriptions to ensure that schools will be able to comply with their financial obligations and prevent embarrassment for school communities;

8.    the incorrect remuneration and/or appointments of educators will be corrected immediately as it can not be expected of any person to comply studiously with his or her duties and responsibilities if the remuneration or appointment is incorrect;

9.    incorrect OSD payments be corrected as soon as possible; and

10.  in general to dramatically improve the communication and administrative infrastructure of all departmental officials and offices.

What is expected from school governing bodies, parents and learners?

The Unions also wish to state that the success of any educational campaign, no matter what its nature, depends for its success on the other role players as well, and therefore require a similar commitment from SGBs, parents and learners, i.e.

1.    That SGBs will -

a.    empower themselves by attending appropriate training courses to be able to comply with their fiduciary duties and responsibilities towards the respective schools and school communities;

b.    provide the required support to schools and educators in a manner that will not intrude on the professional terrain of principals and educators;

2.    That parents will -

a.    register learners timeously;

b.    ensure that learners will attend schools and comply with schools' codes of conduct;

c.    comply with their financial obligations towards schools;

d.    attend the required school functions; and

e.    foster a climate of respect for education, schools and educators.

3.    That learners will -

a.    attend school conscientiously;

b.    work studiously and continuously;

c.    diligently abide by school rules at all times;

d.    show the required respect to schools and educators.

Support lines for schools, educators and parents

As a tangible indication of their unequivocal commitment to the social contract, the three unions will each establish support lines in their respective national offices where schools, educators and parents can lodge complaints or require assistance. These support lines will be as follows, i.e:

1.    Call centres;

2.    The three web sites will contain sections that will be dedicated to this social contract, and whereby schools, educators and parents can log complaints and/or enquiries; and

3.    Dedicated fax lines.

Formal discussions with other role players

The three unions will also arrange formal meetings with the educational authorities, SGB organisations and student organisations to formally discuss the principles underlying this social contract, to build general consensus and to ensure unanimous commitment. The unions will do their part and commit positively to playing their role.  But they call firmly and unequivocally on the other partners in education to do the same.

Conclusion

The three unions believe that further procrastination to improve the state of education South Africa can no longer be afforded. Therefore, they have decided that the time is ripe for statesmanship, leadership and a partnership between unions in the first place, and secondly between unions and other stakeholders in education. Only a true all encompassing partnership between dedicated and committed role players will ensure success in education. The unions will evaluate the progress made by the end of the first term, and if necessary, implement the required remedial steps.

Statement issued by COSATU, January 11 2009

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