No clarity on appointment for St Johns

With just a few weeks before schools reopen, 10 teachers at St Johns Road Primary in East London face an uncertain future.

The teachers were part of a group of 12 sent to the school in August last year after parents protested over the lack of staff. Two teachers have already been sent to other schools by the provincial department of education.

According to the school, these teachers have not been paid for five months. The matter has been taken up with the provincial head office in Zwelitsha, but nothing has come of it.

School governing body chairwoman Charlene Deveraux confirmed that the teachers had not been paid by the department.

Deveraux said it was uncertain who would return when the school reopened because two had already left.

“We will have to wait until the schools reopen to get a clear indication of who is going to be there.”

Acting director of the East London education district Sihle Mnguni said the department processed payments of those teachers with appointment letters. He said if there were no queries with their appointments, then salaries should have been paid.

Mnguni said he was not aware that two teachers had left the school in October last year.

“Any teacher who has been affected must contact me.”

Mnguni said a teacher could be redeployed because he or she was excess to the staff establishment of that school. He said he was unsure if this was the situation at St Johns Road Primary.

He would not be drawn into confirming the number of teachers who would be at the school this year.

Mnguni said the department would only fill “vacant substantive posts” at the school. These are posts budgeted for by the state.

He said the school had hired teachers, which were more than the posts required.

Eastern Cape education department spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said officials dealing with the matter had not yet returned to work and were expected back next week.