Scores of absent educators in KwaZulu-Natal have been getting their salaries although some have not been in a classroom since the beginning of the year.
The missing teachers claim they have been intimidated by members of the community and do not feel safe at the school. According to a 1997 departmental agreement known as HRM 12, they have the right not to attend school – but continue getting full pay – if they fear for their safety in the workplace.
Petros Sosibo is principal of Kwa-Mvimbela High in the mountainous Vulindlela area of KwaZulu-Natal. He has been trying to keep the school operating without six of his nine teachers since the end of January.
The six refused to come to school claiming they were “intimidated” by the community. But according to Sosibo, there could be another reason for their absence for the past four months. “The problem began last year with the absenteeism of these teachers. They would not co-operate with me, and refused to fill in leave forms for the time they took off. It caused some hatred and conflict between us,” says Sosibo.
Things took a turn for the worse when one of the school buildings burnt down on January 28 2001. Three days later, the six teachers reported to the police that “they had been told by people in the community they are not safe because they were suspected of burning the school”,says Sosibo. They haven’t taught since.
Repeated attempts to resolve the matter have achieved nothing. The latest effort was a meeting held late last month between the community, education officials, a South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) representative and two of the teachers.
At the meeting, members of the community insisted, “We didn’t intimidate you. We don’t suspect you of starting the fire. Why are you asking if you are safe or not?” When asked, the teachers were unable to identify who in the community had threatened them. The chief of the area, Vukani Duma, begged the teachers to return to school, adding, “You are safe and you know that you are safe.”
However, by the end of the meeting it was not clear when the teachers would return to the school, or if they’d be redeployed and replacements found.
Meantime, the community is forking out R1 200 a month to pay six volunteers helping out at the school.
Another school which is missing all but one teacher for similar reasons is Mayizekanye Secondary in Swayimane, near Pietermaritzburg. Eight teachers have not been at school since the beginning of the year. The remaining educator, Themba Dlamini, says that the conflict in the area over transport dating back to 199. One pupil was killed, and school closed four years. But the problem has long been resolved. Despite repeated requests, the eight teachers refused to come back because they feel unsafe in the area, says Dlamini.
The purpose of the HRM 12 provision is to protect teachers and other public servants (like the police) from legitimate threats to their well-being in the community they serve. The cause of the threat could be politically inspired, vulnerability to crime, or hostility towards public servants from communities who suspect wrong-doing, and resort to threats and harassment.
Recent examples of such cases in KwaZulu-Natal are:
a school in Inanda where parents allegedly chased away two teachers for administering corporal punishment;
in Emkhakeni, more than 20 educators (including the principal) have declared themselves “misplaced” because the chief of the area allegedly forced them out because he didn’t like their politics;
an attack on 11 teachers, allegedly by two unemployed educators from the community who apparently intended to force the principal to resign by destabilising the school, thereby giving themselves the chance of applying for the post.
Both Sadtu and the KwaZulu Department of Education and Culture concede that the HRM 12 provision is being abused by some teachers who “displace themselves and lie. They go to the police and get a case number, and then don’t teach while investigations are carried out,” says department representative Mandla Msibi.
The time it takes for investigations to be concluded is a further issue of contention. Sadtu’s provincial secretary Ndaba Gcwabaza says that “according to the HRM 12, within the space of 15 days a case could be resolved”, and blames education officials’ “laziness” for the months of delay.
“It is disturbing that it takes so long in some cases,” agrees Msibi, but he blames “complex investigations” for the cases dragging on.
Gcwabaza believes that “if the employer investigated quickly, they would be able to identify those educators merely faking a cause [for claiming displacement]. On the basis of this, they could charge these teachers with misconduct.”
Although no educator has yet been disciplined for misusing the provision, HRM 12 is currently under review to try to cut down on its suspected abuse .
Meanwhile, in many affected schools, learning has ground to a halt. In grade 10 pupil Zandile Ndlovu’s experience, “We go to school everyday and learn nothing. We’re just eating chips and drinking juice.”
— The Teacher/M&G Media, Johannesburg, June 2001.