Forward to the demand for the reopening of Colleges of Education Forward! On Wed, Feb 23, 2011 at 10:39 PM, Dominic Tweedie <[email protected] > wrote:
> > [image: SADTU] > > *SADTU Media Statement, 23 February 2011* > > > *Reaction to the Budget Speech* > > > SADTU notes and welcomes the budget speech by Finance Minister Pravin > Gordan. We note that education continues to receive a sizeable budget > (R189,5 billion). This is an indication that the government continues to > prioritize education as a key tool to addressing the problem of skills > shortages in the country. > > We further note that the budget has also made provision for the other > Government priorities – job creation, health, housing, rural development, > and fighting crime. Overall, the budget shows the country’s commitment to > creating job opportunities and skilling the youth. > > However, we are concerned about the R5 billion employment subsidy for the > youth. From SADTU’s point of view, these subsidies may be open to abuse by > the employers. They can create a situation where full time employment is > sacrificed in favour of subsidized employment. > > Would this not lead to a situation where the youth may never receive > permanent employment? > > We therefore call on government to consult all the stakeholders on this > particular matter and further call on government to develop mechanisms so > that the system is not abused. We also call for strict monitoring of > processes of consultation at NEDLAC and continuous report backs to all > structures. > > We note the following on the additions to spending plans: > > > - An amount of R8.3 billion is added for schools infrastructure: We > call on the Ministry of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation to monitor > progress made in the eradication of mud schools and provide feedback on a > six-monthly basis. We call for the Department of Basic Education not to > allow provincial departments to divert this money to fund political > administration by creating unnecessary directorship positions. > - R9.5 billion for expanding further education and training colleges > and skills development: This is an absolute necessity for the > development state. We want to see an investment in the quality of lecturers > in Further Education and Training Colleges. We therefore call for the > establishment of a think-tank between the Departments of Basic and Higher > Education which will do extensive research on new methodologies for > teaching, in particular Math and science learning areas. > - We welcome the under R1 billion added for funza lushaka teacher > bursaries but continue to raise our call for the reopening of colleges of > education as the universities are not enough to train the teachers needed > to > close the backlog. The reopening these colleges is long overdue. The > Department must not beat about the bush but should state categorically > clear > whether they are prepared to reopen these colleges or not. We can no longer > afford to listen to lip service. > > > Overall, this budget will not increase the number of teachers to be > employed. This is quite disturbing because teachers are the most important > input towards quality education. The budget is also not clear about > measures to increase administrative personnel in order to unlock the time > needed for teaching by teachers. Failure to address this will go against the > President’s Triple T campaign which calls for more Teachers, Texbooks and > Time. > > The budget is silent on the conclusion of OSD and salary adjustments. We > need better remuneration for teachers so that the profession can attract and > retain new talent and quality teachers. > > > *Issued by SADTU Secretariat* > * * > *Contact:* > *General Secretary, Mugwena Maluleke, 082 783 2968* > *Deputy General Secretary, Nkosana Dolopi, 082 709 5651* > *Media Officer, Nomusa Cembi, 082 719 5157 * > > > > -- > You are subscribed. This footer can help you. > Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to > this message. > You can visit the group WEB SITE at > http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery > options, pages, files and membership. > To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected]. > You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to > put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to > this address (repeat): [email protected] . > -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
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