POLOKWANE – Angry members of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) said they have lost their respect for education MEC, Dikeledi Magadzi, during a protest march in the city on Tuesday.
The irate striking teachers called Magadzi a “mad, arrogant, rotten girl who is making the already defunct educational system a mockery” and demanded that she resign.
Sadtu members marched to the department of education on Tuesday to hand over a memorandum with their demands. They said they felt insulted and angry that Magadzi sent a junior official to receive the memorandum.
Sadtu secretary, Matome Raphasha, said their demands included that Magadzi pay all Adult Education Training (AET) educators their outstanding tariff increases for the 2012/13 financial year within 14 days.
He said the contract of employment agreed upon by the ministerial task team must be signed by the department as minimum conditions of service for AET educators within seven days.
Raphasha also said all shortages and non delivery of textbooks in the province should be addressed immediately.
He said all outstanding allowances for teachers who acted in promotional posts should be paid immediately.
The union’s demands also included that temporary teachers should not fill senior posts, but that existing teachers should fill these positions and be paid accordingly. They also want temporary teachers who are still in the employment of the department to be employed on permanent contracts.
According to Raphasha, the union was especially concerned with sanitation in schools and demanded that forensic investigations be conducted on the state of sanitation at schools.
The union’s demands include that:
• All outstanding payments for exam markers be paid before April 15 and if this deadline is not met, a levy of 10% should be added for every 15 days’ delay after the cut off date.
• The MEC should manage the department in a transparent way and disclose all money used for skills development to the task team, inclusivity and consultaion.
• The current norms and standards provision per learner should be increased to R550 and be paid in a single payment to schools at the beginning of the year.
• All educators in the senior phases should be trained in the requirements of the Caps sylla-bus before the end of March.
• All curriculum advisers should be provided with office space and the necessary resources, including laptops and photocopy machines.
• All letters and threats sent to underperforming principals be withdrawn immediately.
