Sadtu challenges Dept advisory limiting teacher posts
Teachers unions have hit back at an advisory by KZN Education, urging schools to keep their pupil headcount in 2019 the same as this year's.
The Post Provisioning Model determines the number of educator posts allocated to each school based on the number of learners enrolled.
The department says the decision due to finances. It says keeping classes the same size would help schools save money that can be pumped into areas that need improvement.
But the department's faced a union backlash. SADTU's Nomarashiya Caluza says it's worrying because new teachers are entering the field each year.
"We have institutions of higher learning producing more and more teachers but there is no space to absorb them. As we speak, there are so many graduates that are at home who are qualified to teach. So those are the contradictions that we are seeing. It does not speak to the real needs of the country - like job creation," Caluza said.
Education's Muzi Mahlambi says they hired a lot of new teachers this year - if they need to, they'll employ more in 2019.
ALSO READ: Co-curricular activities needed to counteract school violence: Sadtu
"Let us all wait until January 2019, which is going to indicate to us whether a particular school has declined, or if another school has increased in numbers."
