Newly qualified teachers, and those coming back into the profession after a break in service, may be compelled to teach in rural or disadvantaged schools, if proposed changes to education laws go through.
These proposed amendments to the Employment of Educators Act were released for public comment last month and have drawn criticism from teacher unions and school governing body (SGB) organisations.
The Department of Education (DoE) is aiming to take control over the process of appointments for two categories of teachers: those who are re-entering the education system after a break in service, and newly qualified teachers. The reason given for this in the Government Gazette notice calling for public comments is ‘the [provincial education departments] will be in a better position to distribute these educators, especially to schools which are in rural areas”.
The DoE argues that this mechanism will ‘ensure a fair distribution of well-qualified educators”, since schools in remote areas typically struggle to attract quality teachers.
While few dispute that such a difficulty exist, many in the education sector argue that amending the law is neither the right way to achieve it, nor is it likely to succeed in changing the status quo.
The National Professional Teachers Association of South Africa (Naptosa) and the Suid Afrikaanse Onderwys Unie (SAOU) was particularly vocal in their opposition to the DoE’s plan.
Henry Henricks, executive director of Naptosa, says there is a fundamental issue of principle in question: ‘We are not at all happy with the removal of the right of the SGBs to recommend teachers for posts”.
But there are other implications for the education system, beyond the issue of SGB powers. Paul Colditz, national chairperson of the Federation of School Governing Bodies, says: ‘Educators have a constitutionally entrenched right to choose where they wish to teach. It is not in the best interests of the profession or of the community [they will be placed at].”
Colditz argues that the real problem is ‘the perceived working conditions in these areas and these schools. [The DoE] should look at providing housing, transport, and some sort of allowance to attract educators.”
He adds that ‘if you force teachers in this way, you’re not going to have a happy educator. A successful education process depends to a large extent on an educator who is happy and motivated”.
In the long term, ‘there’s going to be such a shortage of educators because the profession will seem unattractive to potential newcomers”, says Colditz.
Piet Delpoort, legal adviser for the SAOU, believes the proposed solution misses the point: ‘You don’t remedy problems by making stupid little rules. You have to go to the root of the problem to really address it.”
The proposed amendments will still have to be approved by Parliament before they become law but, says Colditz, ‘if they do go through by some miracle, we will certainly take a stand because it undermines the roots of what SGBs are about”.
One of the few voices of support has come from the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu). Sadtu’s representative Hassen Logat says the measures could help to ‘deracialise some schools where there are teachers of only one colour”. Logat also says the proposed move would ‘help newly qualified teachers, who often find it difficult to get jobs”.
Besides these particularly controversial proposals, the DoE is also proposing amendments to the South African Schools Act. These include:
-the lowering of the age of admission to Grade R and Grade 1 by six months;
– establishing one ‘national instrument for assessment of learner achievement”, as opposed to the various provincial instruments currently used;
-the prohibition of initiation practices at schools. This follows a recommendation made by the South African Human Rights Commission;
-introducing a code of conduct for SGB members to make it easier to deal with cases of misconduct.