THEY START at work next month, 500 teachers who will teach Grade R in KwaZulu-Natal, employed by the Department of Education in the province. There has been a debate over the employment of teachers who teach this level in this province.
The Minister of the Ministry, Mr. Sipho Hlomuka, said that these workers started on April 1, at work, and he said that they were hired to strengthen the foundation of education in this province.
“The Department is committed to following the law of Bela schools, which makes it clear that Grade R is now compulsory in the country. We also ensure that the teachers who teach this grade have the appropriate qualifications and we want the students to be taught by dedicated people,” he said.
He said that those teachers will also reduce the number of students in the classrooms following the standard of how many students one teacher teaches in the classroom.
“Strengthening the foundation of education will make the results in higher grades good, including matric. Those teachers will help a lot in rural areas, where they will open doors for students living in these areas.”
He said they want to make sure that the student who starts school, gets a quality education. As it happens, there are still unemployed teachers who complain about the refusal of jobs in the department. Most of them go to the offices of the Department and demand that officials hire them. This group complains about the misery they are facing as they studied but cannot find a job.
The provincial department is facing pressure of not being able to fill some vacancies due to insufficient budget. Vacancies including those of inspectors, circuit managers of the Department as well as office workers, are not closed due to lack of funds.
The financial crisis makes the Department unable to pay the contractors it works with on time. Some of them include a company that distributes books to schools, which needs to make a loan to the Department to buy stationery and books so that students can continue to study. Schools are also struggling as the money for norms and standards, which makes various programs, is delayed due to lack of money.