IN A year without major teacher union action, the Eastern Cape maintained its record of marginal improvement in the matric pass rate.
However, a teacher strike is reportedly already looming in the new year as a major union and provincial officials locked horns yesterday in a dispute over teacher numbers.
Schools are set to reopen on January 15 and already battle lines are drawn between the department of education and the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu).
This comes hot on the heels of a provincial matric results announcement of a 64.9% pass rate for 2013 by high-level education delegation at the Stirling Education Institute in East London yesterday.
Education experts warned that any infighting between unions and education officials had the potential of jeopardising the performance of pupils.
It was the first time since 1994 that the Eastern Cape had kept its performance momentum above 60%.
In 2003, it obtained 60.1%, but regressed in the following years until 2012 when it scored 61.6%.
Education expert Jonathan Godden said any threat of a strike was bad news for the education system. “It creates an atmosphere of conflict regardless of how valid the issues are.
“It has psychological effects on teachers of a constant war with the department framed in mind as an opposition.
“This doesn’t say the department are angels but children do pay the price at the end of the day. As you know the saying goes ‘When two elephants fight, the grass suffers’,” Godden said.
Public Service Accountability Monitor education researcher Zukiswa Kota said it was incumbent on teacher unions to enter into labour discussions with the department in a manner that was not disruptive to learning.
Kota said their disputes should not compromise teaching, but offer suggestions for solutions.
She said unions had a powerful role to play in assembling a critical mass in mobilising communities in the fight for the improvement of education in the country.
“, it is incumbent on both the department and unions to desist from using learners and learning time as pawns during labour talks.”
Education expert Graeme Bloch said unions had a very important role in education.
“We must not be anti-union, we must expect the department to do its job but I think Sadtu has only verbally changed. It is improving at a rhetorical level and talking more developmentally, but must still do a lot.”
Sadtu provincial deputy secretary Nolitha Mboniswa said the union had to lodge a dispute over the culling of teaching jobs.
“I have not heard anything about the strike and I won’t comment on it. The department has been downgrading teachers yearly and the reductions of teachers has implications on the pass rate.”
Mboniswa said teachers had played a role in 2013’s improved pass rate despite the challenges they faced.
Announcing the provincial results yesterday, education MEC Mandla Makupula said although the province was at the bottom of the class in the country, it registered quality results.
“In terms of provincial ranking the province ranks fifth in terms of bachelor’s pass rate, fourth in terms of diplomas and third in terms of a higher certificate pass rate in all provinces.”
The Eastern Cape
11 038 distinctions in compared with 9 264 in 2012;
13 686 bachelor’s passes 2013 compared with 11 246 2012;
19 179 diplomas in 2013 compared with 16 148 in 2012; and
13 950 higher certificates compared with 11 998 in 2012. —
Strike looms as pass rate improves
However, a teacher strike is reportedly already looming in the new year as a major union and provincial officials locked horns yesterday in a dispute over teacher numbers.
Schools are set to reopen on January 15 and already battle lines are drawn between the department of education and the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu).
This comes hot on the heels of a provincial matric results announcement of a 64.9% pass rate for 2013 by high-level education delegation at the Stirling Education Institute in East London yesterday.
Education experts warned that any infighting between unions and education officials had the potential of jeopardising the performance of pupils.
It was the first time since 1994 that the Eastern Cape had kept its performance momentum above 60%.
In 2003, it obtained 60.1%, but regressed in the following years until 2012 when it scored 61.6%.
Education expert Jonathan Godden said any threat of a strike was bad news for the education system. “It creates an atmosphere of conflict regardless of how valid the issues are.
“It has psychological effects on teachers of a constant war with the department framed in mind as an opposition.
“This doesn’t say the department are angels but children do pay the price at the end of the day. As you know the saying goes ‘When two elephants fight, the grass suffers’,” Godden said.
Public Service Accountability Monitor education researcher Zukiswa Kota said it was incumbent on teacher unions to enter into labour discussions with the department in a manner that was not disruptive to learning.
Kota said their disputes should not compromise teaching, but offer suggestions for solutions.
She said unions had a powerful role to play in assembling a critical mass in mobilising communities in the fight for the improvement of education in the country.
“, it is incumbent on both the department and unions to desist from using learners and learning time as pawns during labour talks.”
Education expert Graeme Bloch said unions had a very important role in education.
“We must not be anti-union, we must expect the department to do its job but I think Sadtu has only verbally changed. It is improving at a rhetorical level and talking more developmentally, but must still do a lot.”
Sadtu provincial deputy secretary Nolitha Mboniswa said the union had to lodge a dispute over the culling of teaching jobs.
“I have not heard anything about the strike and I won’t comment on it. The department has been downgrading teachers yearly and the reductions of teachers has implications on the pass rate.”
Mboniswa said teachers had played a role in 2013’s improved pass rate despite the challenges they faced.
Announcing the provincial results yesterday, education MEC Mandla Makupula said although the province was at the bottom of the class in the country, it registered quality results.
“In terms of provincial ranking the province ranks fifth in terms of bachelor’s pass rate, fourth in terms of diplomas and third in terms of a higher certificate pass rate in all provinces.”
The Eastern Cape
11 038 distinctions in compared with 9 264 in 2012;
13 686 bachelor’s passes 2013 compared with 11 246 2012;
19 179 diplomas in 2013 compared with 16 148 in 2012; and
13 950 higher certificates compared with 11 998 in 2012. —
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