Durban – THE KZN Qualified Educators App was rendered dysfunctional after just over 30 000 applications and supporting documents were uploaded using this app and impacted the storage capacity of its server.
This was according to Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu and his head of department Enoch Nzama in a written legislature reply to questions by the DA.
The Daily News had previously reported that the App had allegedly not been working for some time which the department denied saying it had problems that were since resolved.
It was also reported that frustrated unemployed education graduates reached out to teacher unions in a bid to get answers on the App which cost over R424 577 to develop.
The App is used to apply for level one teaching positions.
Mshengu and Nzama said users have been redirected to the web portal version of the App, which was set up as a backup for users to register.
“The department is currently upgrading and migrating its host environment and deploying additional storage capacity and other security features on the mobile version of the App in order to enhance its storage capacity. There is a management plan in place for the migration and deployment process which will be concluded by March 12. The web version is available as an alternative measure which has all the features of the mobile version and candidates have been redirected to make use of it in the interim,” they said.
However, according to Thandeka Buthelezi, from the group KZN Unemployed Qualified Educators (KZNUQE), the web portal was just as problematic as the App.
She said the App and portal were where applicants received their notifications from school principals.
Buthelezi said this week that she had to console a tearful applicant after she was the only one out five people notified on the App for an interview.
“The principal turned her away because the other people were not there. The web portal gives notifications but we are unable to respond to these because the App is not working,” she said.
DA spokesperson on education Imraan Keeka said while there was always the important need to innovate and trend towards online systems that make life easier, it seemed like the department did not anticipate such a large volume of applications.
“Online means should always be seamless and easy and as a backup, other means must always be available. In this way all eventualities are considered. That the App has not been working for almost a year and is only expected to be online again by the end of this week, and with only a web portal available, points to poor communication, improper planning and lack of foresight on the part of the department. The department is urged to make sure the process is expedited to prevent any further hardship for applicants. Not everybody has access to the web portal and certainly more will have ease of access to the App.”
Unemployed teachers want online job applications stopped:
While the Department of Education’s mobile App which has been down and expected to be running by Friday, a group of unemployed qualified teachers have appealed to put online applications on hold.
The KZN Unemployed Educators (KZNUQE), in a statement, asked for the department, who assured that the online processes were running smoothly, to revert to level one posts being advertised in bulletins like other teaching positions.
Spokesperson Mlekeleli Radebe said they noted that the department had not anticipated such a high number of applicants when it sealed the deal to develop the App with Quality Designs (Pty) LTD.
“It was reported that there is the Web Portal version available as an alternative measure which has all the features available on the Mobile version that candidates have been re-directed to make use of in the meantime. Nevertheless, the KZNUQE are still struggling to register or login to the alternative Web Portal version,” he said.
Radebe disputed that the alternate web portal was fully functional and added that they learnt first time users were unable to register on it.
“It favours existing candidates who are also unable to view the documents they uploaded. It does not save what has been edited in the candidate's profile while there are missing documents too. It denies the candidate's password and provides no option for retrieval of a forgotten password. There is no block for specialist educators and some learning areas do not appear such as natural sciences. Some candidates are unable to login,” Radebe said.
He said in two weeks, 100 of their members would be marching to the education offices in Pietermaritzburg to hand over a memorandum of their grievances.
Radebe said they would have their CVs in hand with one of their demands including that 50% of these CVs should be accepted by human resources.
Daily News