The KwaZulu-Natal government has told 5 000 adult literacy teachers — teaching 40 000 learners — that they will not be paid for the next three months because the provincial education department has overspent its budget.
After a ”bruising” meeting with the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) recently, department officials apparently agreed to pay the teachers for November. But it remains unclear whether they will be rehired in the new year.
Department spokesperson Christi Naude denied any decision to suspend salaries, but the Mail & Guardian has seen an official circular declaring that teachers will not be paid for November, December and January.
Nearly 22% of adults in KwaZulu-Natal have little or no schooling, and about two million are illiterate. Last year the province’s Education Minister, Ina Cronje, hosted a high-profile imbizo where she called for adult basic education and training (Abet) to be ”a major priority for education” in KwaZulu-Natal.
Abet teachers first heard last month that they would not be paid in October, November and January. All Abet contracts run annually, from January to November, and the teachers are paid by the hour. No classes are held in December.
Teacher Misheck Baraza said the no-pay decision was a clear breach of contract. ”The employer can’t do this — it’s unfair labour practice and undermines us as Abet practitioners,” he said.
But the education department assured the M&G there had been no such decision. Naude said the department ”communicates through circulars and no circular has been issued to tell our Abet tutors that they will not be paid for October, November and January. If … education officials have been spreading these rumours, we need to know who they are.”
This week the M&G received a copy of a circular signed by departmental head Cassius Lubisi and dated October 26 — about a week after the M&G spoke to Naude. It says there has been ”consistent over-expenditure in the Abet programme”, and that the budget of R69million is set to be overspent by R13million this financial year.
As a result, all public adult learning centres will close for November, December and January, all Abet tuition will cease for that period and no further teachers will be appointed.
”In essence,” the circular says, ”this means that the department will not expect any claims for tuition during this period.” It also says the department will use this period to conduct ”an urgent audit” of Abet provision, including precise numbers of learners and tutors in public learning centres.
The M&G’s written request this week to the department for clarification received no response. But Sadtu’s KwaZulu-Natal secretary, Sipho Nkosi, said a ”bruising and highly emotional meeting” on Tuesday with Abet officials had determined ”that the department was wrong to terminate the teachers’ services unilaterally” and payments for November would be made.
Senior departmental management still had to approve this, he said. If they did not, ”we will explore other avenues, such as court action”. Tuesday’s meeting did not consider what would happen to Abet classes if teachers are not rehired in January.
Farrell Hunter of the Adult Learning Network commented that Abet teachers are especially vulnerable because of long-standing inadequacies in conditions of employment. Most are employed on contract with no employment stability or benefits such as those schoolteachers enjoy, he said.
Baraza said Abet tutors are paid about R50 an hour, bringing in between R800 and R1 300 a month, depending on the hours taught.