Teacher bodies have welcomed the appointment of Angie Motshekga in the post of minister for basic education, but have warned that she will have her work cut out for her.
The education portfolio has been split into basic education and higher education and training.
Motshekga, who formerly served as education MEC in Gauteng, will be tasked with making sure the schooling system runs smoothly, while SACP secretary general Blade Nzimande will now oversee higher education and training.
She has a strong track record as an educator, and holds a masters degree in education from the University of Witwatersrand. She spent time as a high school teacher and university lecturer and was instrumental in the formation of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu).
Sadtu has welcomed her appointment, hailing it as a ‘positive move’. Union spokesperson John Lewis says they have always had an honest and open relationship with Motshekga and hopefully this will continue in her new position.
However, Lewis makes it clear that Motshekga will have to prioritise Early Childhood Development (ECD) to ensure that all children receive a good grounding, especially in literacy and numeracy.
This sentiment was echoed by Ezra Ramasehla, president of the National Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa).
Ramasehla also wants a more focused approach to teacher skills development, so that ‘all teachers are adequately equipped to deal with the demands of education in the country’.
However the other major teacher union, the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysersunie (SAOU), was not as forthcoming with praise for Motshekga.
SAOU spokesperson Chris Klopper says that while the union hopes Motshekga will be the ‘new broom that sweeps clean’ they were not too impressed with her tenure as Gauteng education MEC.
Klopper told the Teacher she was not very approachable ‘but hopefully that will change now’.