Durban - THOUSANDS of KwaZulu-Natal educators remain absent from schools as a result of having been deemed vulnerable during the current Covid-19 health pandemic due to age and comorbidities.
In a written parliamentary reply to questions posed by the DA recently, 5 970 educators have applied for concessions; 284 are over the age of 60 and with no comorbidities who have applied for concessions; and 1 400 teachers who are working from home on lesson preparation and assessment development and who are being monitored by their respective principals.
“The situation is so bad that the province’s Department of Education (DoE) has had to approach the Treasury as a matter of urgency to request funding for the creation of 4 000 new posts. This as the department’s current pool of 2020 substitute teachers is labelled as insufficient by the MEC (Kwazi Mshengu). According to the reply, the Umlazi and Pinetown districts are worst affected, with teacher shortages of 1 242 and 1 197 respectively,” DA education spokesperson Dr Imran Keeka said in a statement.
In the reply Mshengu also stated that the situation was currently under control while only permitted grades are attending lessons and that educators with the requisite qualification and competency from within the relevant schools are taking on the teaching loads of those who are at home.
Keeka said this was not a long-term solution.
“Based on the contents of the reply, it seems that the assurances he (MEC) and his officials gave may possibly be viewed as misleading and therefore contemptible. The current situation within the DoE does not bode well for our learners. Our Grade 12s have experienced a particularly difficult year and it is imperative that the DoE fulfils its side of the bargain. There can be no substitute for both educators and learners being in classrooms. The DA urges MEC Mshengu and the provincial Treasury to fast-track the process of ensuring that qualified substitute teachers are brought in,” Keeka said.
Department spokesperson Kwazi Mthethwa said the department was in no crisis.
“We are equal to the task and this is a nationwide challenge. We have released a circular that explains the process to get teachers to assist where there are comorbidities,” Mthethwa said.
Daily News