Hundreds of grade R teachers from across the province, led by the EFF, stormed the provincial education head offices in Zwelitsha on Wednesday and held senior officials hostage.
The teachers are demanding permanent contracts and vowed not to leave the offices without the contracts in hand.
The grade R teachers, some of whom travelled from as far as Ntabankulu, Cradock and Port Elizabeth, arrived in Zwelitsha in the morning and demanded to see the department's superintendent-general, Themba Kojana, who was said to be out of town.
The crowd blockaded the entrance demanding to meet with senior officials.
Their call was finally heard when the department’s deputy director-general, Ray Tywakadi, attended to them.
When the Dispatch arrived, group leaders and EFF members were locked in a meeting with him, while the singing crowd, mostly women, occupied the foyer, parking area and stairs of the offices.
One of the main entry gates had been toppled. People in the crowd said it fell over during a scuffle with police, who had used tear gas to try disperse them.
Nosisi Khumalo, who has been a grade R teacher for 14 years, said she was afraid she would die a pauper.
“We get no benefits. When I retire I will have nothing and when I die I will leave nothing.” Khumalo said.
Nomsa Makinana, 50, from Noncedo Primary in Beacon Bay, said she had the required qualifications but had yet to be employed permanently, 13 years later.
“I started as a preschool teacher in 1992, in 2005 after obtaining the needed qualifications, I started teaching grade R. I have a Persal number just like my other colleagues in government but I do not have benefits such as medical aid, housing allowances and a pension fund,” said Makinana. When the Dispatch left the offices, the representatives were still locked in a meeting with the DDG, who was heard saying: “I am not going to be talked down at; we are here to discuss. This is not a meeting of emotions; it is a meeting of finding solutions.”
Department spokesperson Loyiso Pulumani said qualified grade R teachers were being absorbed into the system in phases, but currently there was a “systemic blockage”.
At about 7pm, the crowd took their blankets out of the taxis and buses they had arrived in and headed back inside, saying they were willing to spend the night there in order to get the contracts they had demanded...