School walk-out: SADTU teachers abandon learners to attend meeting
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has learnt that South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) has once again called teachers out of school during class time in Johannesburg, throwing schools into disruption across the province. Today, schools across the Johannesburg area are reporting there is no teaching happening because teachers have gone to a SADTU union meeting; with schools in Soweto being affected most.
The actions of SADTU and its members go against the call made by President Jacob Zuma on numerous occasions, including in his first state of the nation address in 2009, when he stated, "we reiterate our non-negotiables; teachers should be in school, in class on time, teaching, with no neglect of duty and no abuse of pupils". Similar actions by the union have been reported over the past few months in Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. We began this school-year with SADTU committing itself to a "social contract" with the department in terms of which they would do nothing to imperil the delivery of quality education. However, SADTU has repeatedly violated the spirit of this social contract and it's time the Minister took action to exercise control over the most basic functions of her department.
Studies have clearly linked the lack of teaching time to South Africa's poor school results and it is exactly this sort of action by SADTU in calling its members to meetings during class time that contributes to this widespread failure. SADTU should no longer be able to escape censure simply because they are a political ally of the ANC, as their actions are an infringement to the rights of every child to education. This seems to be of little concern to SADTU members who are acutely aware of the massive repercussions their actions today will have and are using that power as leverage in their negotiating position, essentially using the education of our children as a bargaining tool. The Minister needs to put the needs of our children before the needs of her political party.
The DA calls on the Minister Angie Motshekga, to show leadership and to cease pandering to the unions that rate the education of our country's children secondary to their own agendas. Minister Motshekga should hold SADTU accountable, and demand that they stop holding union meetings during class time. Today's actions by SADTU do not foster a culture of excellence that we in the DA hold as essential to delivering a quality education to our learners. At the very least teachers who have gone to today's meeting should have their pay docked. Teachers have a vital role to play and that is in the classroom.
I will be writing to the Minister of Basic Education asking her to detail what her plan is to curb this type of action from SADTU, and what exactly action will be taken against those teachers that have abandoned their duties to attend a union meeting during class time.
Statement issued by James Lorimer, MP, Democratic Alliance Shadow Deputy Minister of Basic Education, July 16 2010
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