MEDIA STATEMENT
25 June 2024
SADTU EASTERN CAPE STATEMENT ON THE OUTCOMES OF THE PROVINCIAL GENERAL COUNCIL AND THE APPOINTMENT OF THE MEC FOR EDUCATION
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union in the Eastern Cape Province convened a Provincial General Council on 21-22 June 2024 in East London. The PGC was attended by 230 voting delegates coming from the six (6) regions, representing 78 branches across the province.
Representatives of our fraternal organisations being our federation COSATU, SANCO, ANC, SACP, COSAS, SASCO, NASGB and the SADTU Student Chapter in the Province and from the national office also attended the PGC.
The PGC reasserted the union’s theme adopted at the 9th National Congress titled, “claiming our right to have our human dignity and safety protected and respected in pursuit of a decolonised quality public education”. The PGC emphasised that in order to achieve our set goals, the unity of our members is sacrosanct.
The PGC noted the major political developments that took place recently in the country. These included the outcomes of the May 29 National and Provincial Elections which saw the ANC dropping to below 50% for the first time since1994. This has put South Africa on a new political path of a Government of National Unity for the first time since the end of the apartheid minority rule 30 years ago.
We also noted the victory obtained by the ANC in the Eastern Cape Province which gave the movement the power to form a government on its own. Comrade Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane was duly elected Premier of the Province for the second term. He also addressed the PGC in his capacity as the Chairperson of the ANC in the Eastern Cape.
The PGC welcomed the appointment of Comrade Fundile Gade as the MEC for Education in the Province. We noted the strides he took to change the face of education in the province. He changed the negative narrative of the province being the worst performer to a position of improved educational outcomes. The department, under his leadership, also addressed the infrastructure backlogs. We saw massive roll-out of school infrastructure and sanitation. However, we believe more still needs to be done. We expect the MEC to assist in addressing the following backlogs:
- Exit benefits of all employees in the department
- Post Provisioning Norms which continue to be a challenge as the province is mostly rural and vast.
- The ECD/ Grade R challenges with the employment of qualified Grade R practitioners
- The plight of unemployed graduates
- School infrastructure
- Scholar transport
- School Enrichment Program
- Rural incentives
- Safety and security in schools
- Equal Treatment of Fundza Lushaka bursary holders
- Rural education policy implementation
- Disposal/ write-off of 2017 laptops.
- Urgent convening of school enrichment Indaba
- Absorption of unemployed graduates in substantive vacant posts.
- Employment of support staff in schools.
- Capacitation of School Governing Bodies.
As a labour movement, we projected on the challenging times as we find ourselves in the middle of the crossroad after the ANC lost during the recent elections. We will interrogate frankly and robustly the new concept of a GNU and the challenges it is likely to pose for the working class and the poor.
We further acknowledged the role we must play as education workers in building a violence-free society based on human rights. Our country is besieged by peculiar social ills and causal socio-economic factors that lead to higher than the global average incident rates of Gender Based Violence. We see this phenomenon as another pandemic as pronounced by the State President. We link this phenomenon with the high rates of School Related Gender Based Violence.
We hold the view that building a violence-free society is one of our central tasks as progressive education workers aligned to the mass democratic movement unapologetically. We reaffirm the Union’s long-standing crusade to conscientise our members through the “SADTU Friday” campaign whose objectives we fully support.
In the same spirit, as delegates, we are reaffirming our unequivocal support for the Union’ s “I AM A SCHOOL FAN” campaign. It is our position that this campaign against all forms of violence in our schools and the phenomenon of vandalising public property will assist us to rally all role players efficiently and effectively within a schooling community to work collaboratively against this scourge.
We believe that the delivery of quality public education can only be achieved in an environment that is appeasing to the learners and teachers. With concerted effort involving different stakeholders, we will root out violence in schools.
Furthermore, and considering our foremost task to shape the nation through education, we agree that we have a moral responsibility to fight against tribalism, racism, regionalism, and all other divisive factors that may compromise our unity as a Union.
Organisational
In line with the second pillar of SADTU’s 2030 Vision, we will continue to support the career exhibitions in partnership with the Student Chapter to guide learners on the subject and career choices.
Member service remains our cardinal task as an organised labour formation, and we will continuously work towards improving our internal capacity for this purpose.
We will also continue to ensure that efficient member service is provided to our members in TVET/CET, Early Childhood Development, Education Support Personnel and Office Based education workers.
As delegates, we further commit to support the SADTU Student Chapter in the province and our young, emerging and new members to participate in the activities of the COSATU Young Workers Forum in the province as an effective organising strategy.
Education
The PGC welcomed the decision on migration of Early Childhood Development (ECD) from Department of Social Development (DSD) to Department of Basic Education (DBE).
Pre-service and in-service teacher education and training is also central to equipping teachers with the knowledge and skills to provide appropriate services to learners from different backgrounds, with different capabilities and orientations. We reaffirm our view that such teacher education and training and professional development should continuously be fully funded by the State.
The social values of education require the State to protect the education sector from the negative neo-liberal agenda of privatisation and commercialisation of education. This negative agenda includes the casualisation of employment in the education sector, and the application of private-sector management models for profit motives.
We commit ourselves to working closer with all the relevant departments and other social partners to provide inclusive quality free public education as a human right, and high professional status for teachers.
We advocate for the use of indigenous languages as a medium of instruction as resolved by UNESCO. Learners who are not learning in their mother tongue are denied access to knowledge and this perpetuates high failure rate.
The use of Information & Communication Technology in education requires teacher training, development programmes and infrastructure.
We will also continue to advocate for an education system where well-coordinated sports activities are central.
Socio-Economic
Noting the issue of energy in the country as matter of concern as it has a negative impact on the economy and education, we therefore resolved that alternative energy generation measures should be explored as matter of urgency.
There should be increased investment into public education to eradicate the inequalities in infrastructure which characterise our province.
ISSUED BY : SADTU EC Provincial Secretariat