Durban - About 30 Grade R teachers picketed outside the Department of Education offices in Pietermaritzburg yesterday demanding to be included in the mainstream (to be included with the grades 1-12 teachers).
Nokulunga Khumalo said the picket was to highlight some of the long unresolved problems that had plagued them.
They want:
an increase in salary (stipend);
to be included in the department as that would entitle them to benefits;
better infrastructure in classes;
more efficiency in delivering textbooks; and
bursaries for unqualified teachers.
Khumalo said that unlike primary and secondary school teachers, Grade R teachers did not necessarily need to have a higher education qualification.
She said Grade R teachers who had a Bachelor of Education degree earned R7 750, while those without a degree earned just R500 less.
“There is very little difference between a qualified teacher and an unqualified one. We are saying people should be earning in line with their qualifications and our colleagues who do not have qualifications should be given bursaries to improve their skills.”
Nomarashiya Caluza, provincial secretary of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), said the union supported the Grade R teachers’ plight. She said Sadtu had long been trying to get the department to respond to these issues.
“In February, Sadtu initiated discussions on the prioritisation of Grade R teachers who qualify to be placed in the mainstream,” she said.
The picketers were met by a department official who said their grievances were noted but their demands could not be implemented overnight as they had national consequence.
Provincial Education spokesperson Kwazi Mthethwa said the department had been offering bursaries for Grade R teachers to upskill themselves.
“With limited resources, we will have to see how we can find a lasting solution. We need to meet halfway because we are doing this for our children,” he said.