Dispatch
*Children come first * *Editorial, Dispatch, East London, 23 February 2012 *IT HAS been two weeks since Cosatu boss Zwelinzima Vavi announced teacher unions and the provincial government had reached an agreement paving the way for thousands of temporary teachers to return to classrooms.
The deal, brokered by Vavi, Eastern Cape Premier Noxolo Kiviet and Education MEC Mandla Makupula, was hailed as a game-changer.
About 4000 temporary teachers were to be reinstated and the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) would call off the go-slow by permanent teachers. The union also agreed to withdraw its court challenge seeking to force the education department to reinstate the temporary teachers.
All of this was to happen within 48 hours. But two weeks later not a lot has changed except that the permanent teachers involved in the go- slow have returned to class.
School principals around the Eastern Cape are still waiting for their temporary teachers.
The lack of temporary teachers this week provoked 1 500 pupils at John Bisseker High School in East London into taking to the streets.
These children should be in class.But the problem is that even if they were, they, along with hundreds of thousands of Eastern Cape pupils, would still be denied a proper education -- almost two months into the new academic year -- because they do not have enough teachers.
At John Bisseker alone about 500 pupils -- across all grades -- are still without teachers for maths, accounting, life sciences, tourism, English, natural sciences and technology.
This week Makupula said he had effected the reinstatement of the temporary teachers and thereby executed his political responsibility.What was happening now was an "administrative matter" about which he was awaiting a report.
At the same time he noted that Sadtu had not withdrawn its case.Sadtu meanwhile, says it is waiting for the department to reinstate the temporary teachers before it retracts its case.
"If there aren't temporary teachers at schools, anything else does not matter," said Sadtu's provincial secretary Mncekeleli Ndongeni.
While we earlier hailed the deal as a significant step towards finding a lasting solution to the education crisis in our province, it is disappointing to find both parties still fully engaged in the brinkmanship that is paralysing education in this province.
What we need from Makupula is firm leadership in ensuring all department undertakings are upheld -- and on time. Sadtu too, has made undertakings which it must keep.
Both sides need to realise one thing: they exist because our children need to be educated. If they can't, or won't, put that first they must find another line of work.
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