Jacquie Golding-Duffy
A new national newspaper — The Teacher — is about to hit South Africa’s streets as the first independent monthly venture dedicated solely to teachers.
The newspaper is published by the South African Newspaper Education Trust (Sanet), and the Mail & Guardian has been commissioned to help produce the publication which will be launched next month.
Educationists believe it will fill a gap in the market previously ignored by the media. Although some advertising agencies are welcoming its arrival, others are more cautious.
Hunt Lascaris media strategist Alistair Duff says the education sector is mostly covered by civil service news letters. “Realistically we need further proliferation of titles with publications covering specific niche markets such as teachers.”
He says The Teacher is likely to benefit the media as a whole and could provide people, in this case teachers, with a forum and source of information tailored specifically for them and their needs.
The Jupiter Drawing Room media director Belinda Vosloo says the idea is good as “an information vehicle for teachers”. But she is unsure as to the editorial. “One has to ask who is going to dictate what they, the teachers, need and how professional will the information be?” she asks.
Editor of The Teacher Vusi Mona — a former teacher, teacher trainer and founder of an education journal — says he sees the newspaper as a mechanism to “encourage teachers to be reflective practitioners in their work”.
“I intend steering it towards becoming a forum through which teachers can critically reflect, talk and interact about what is happening inside their classroom and within the education fraternity as a whole.”
At the same time, he says, The Teacher will be a good read.
The publication has caused a flurry of excitement in education circles. It has been welcomed by the deputy director general of the national Department of Education, John Samuel, who notes that teachers are and always will be a “key source” in education.
Education Ministry representative Lincoln Mali says the education minister is “delighted” by the new education publication.
“Firstly, it will give teachers an opportunity to become acquainted with education policies. Secondly, teachers can impact on those policies by writing letters to the publication or to the ministry and give their input. Thirdly, and most importantly, it will boost morale among the teaching corps.”
Chairman of the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education Blade Nzimande says The Teacher is being established at a time when the education system is undergoing transformation. “I feel the newspaper will play an important role in ensuring that teachers are included in the process.”
President of the Association of Professional Teachers Suzanne Rees says the publication is likely to inform otherwise busy teachers of developments outside their immediate classroom and school situation.
“It will allow teachers to be exposed to the rest of the teaching world and the bigger world of education.”
The National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) and the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) have both pledged their support for the publication.
Naptosa expressed the hope that the publication will bridge the gap between the two organisations.
The groups take a different approach to teacher issues, Naptosa — an umbrella body for several organisations — stressing the professional angle, while Sadtu, more labour- based, deals with issues from a union perspective.
Sadtu vice-president Reg Brijraj says: “The media focuses on crisis stories and there is not enough in-depth news on what is happening in the education field. We are looking forward to the news behind the news.”
Sanet manager Sharon Levy says education in South Africa was sharply characterised by the way the state had abused it in pursuit of its goal of ethnic and racial division.
The Teacher hopes to encourage a national pride in the teaching profession and to develop teachers as participants in decision- making which not only affects their professional lives but also impacts on the classroom.