The Congress of South Africa Students (Cosas) on Wednesday called on schoolchildren to hit back when they are being hit by teachers.
“We call on all students to fight fire with fire. When teachers hit you, you must hit back,” provincial chairperson Ntsako Mogobe told reporters in Pretoria.
He defended his statement by saying teachers were failing in their duty to teach.
South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) regional chairperson Moss Senye, also the principal of Soweto’s Meadowlands High School, appeared in court on Monday for allegedly assaulting a 17-year-old pupil last month. Soweto teachers missed school to attend Senye’s hearing. The African National Congress has called for these teachers to be fired.
Mogobe called the teachers’ behaviour “childish” and insisted they be fired as the “no work, no pay” rule was “too soft”.
“We call on the [Gauteng education minister] to fire all the teachers who hold meetings during school hours [and] all those who bunked classes to support … Moss Senye.”
He charged that Sadtu in Johannesburg was led by teachers more interested in collecting their pay cheques than learning and teaching.
Mogobe also expressed disappointment at Senye’s comments last Thursday, when he referred to Gauteng education minister Barbara Creecy as a Satanist for implementing the “no work, no-pay policy”.
Racist and immature
While welcoming the apology from Sadtu higher structures, Mogobe said the statement itself was racist and immature.
Senye said at the time: “Let us not embrace Satanic people. Down with Satanism. Barbara is trying to destroy us. Angie [Motshekga] tried and now she is gone, Mary [Metcalfe] tried and she has vanished. People have tried to destroy the union and failed. At no stage should you be friends with white people, they will satanise you.”
The student body further challenged the decision by Tshwane mayor Kgosientso “Sputla” Ramokgopa to dismiss more than 1Â 000 municipal workers who recently embarked on an illegal strike, saying it was “unilateral and cheap politicking”.
The workers, affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers’ Union, were protesting against the disciplinary action taken against their members in the city’s troubled bus services.
“It’s a sign of intellectual failure,” said Mogobe, citing the grave impact this would have on many families. “He is decreasing the number of jobs while the ANC is trying to create more jobs. Those workers are parents of our students and the salaries they get from the municipality are used to buy school uniforms and pay school fees.”
The union has vowed to fight tooth and nail for the reinstatement of dismissed workers, but Ramokgopa previously indicated that there would be no compromise.
Management has claimed to have prima facie evidence implicating the fired workers. — Sapa