Cape Town - The number of Western Cape teachers who have resigned has shot up from 526 in 2013 to 910 last year. Western Cape Education Department spokesman Paddy Attwell said the teachers resigned for various reasons and concern over pensions may have contributed to the larger number of resignations last year.
The issue is not confined to the Western Cape, and at the weekend the national executive committee of the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) expressed concern over “the mass resignation of teachers from the system in order to cash in on their pensions”.
The resignations are believed to have been sparked by a rumour. In a circular to schools in September the department stated that an “unfounded rumour” regarding pension benefit payments had been spreading.
“The rumours suggest that there will be no lump sum payable to members of the Government Employees Pension Fund. The education department, along with the pension fund, is not certain where the rumours originated. However, members can be assured that the pension fund’s board of trustees has not approved any changes to the fund,” the circular stated.
Attwell said the fund had written to all members to allay fears while the department’s client services division had counselled many teachers and other employees on the issue.
Senior officials discussed the issue in meetings with school principals across the province last year.
“We are concerned about any resignation that may not be in the best interests of the employee,” he said.
Elijah Mhlanga, a spokesman for the Department of Basic Education, said it had also sent several circulars to schools to reassure teachers about the rumours.
“We are concerned about it, but many of the teachers who resign have not left the schools, and are still teaching as temporary teachers. We will continue to recruit teachers to fill the posts that have been left vacant in those cases where there are not teachers.”
In a statement Sadtu urged “the union and the employer to treat this as a matter of urgency and embark on joint information-sharing campaigns”.
It said other factors for resignations included the “economic conditions of teachers”, which make it difficult for teachers to access home loans, and a lack of discipline among pupils.
“The national executive committee has discouraged teachers and members from resigning. While we understand financial challenges facing teachers, resignation is not a solution.”
Cape Argus