Education
14 June 2007
The Department of Education met today in Pretoria with all provincial Heads
of Education. The purpose of the meeting was to assess the situation in
schools, and to respond to these in a co-ordinated fashion.
The meeting received a comprehensive report from each province, which showed
that the strike has indeed had a serious impact on education. However, it was
also evident that this impact had been uneven, and that there were many schools
which have remained open for the entire period, and have proceeded with
mid-year examinations. These included schools in suburban areas, as well as
many rural schools. Some schools which wished to remain open had been forced to
close, through intimidation, and others had been closed altogether. Most
Further Education and Training Colleges and Accreditation Board for Engineering
and Technology centres have remained open and have conducted their
examinations.
The reports provided clear evidence that strong and decisive leadership in
the provinces had been critical in giving schools the confidence to proceed
with their programmes in the face of threats. The role of many responsible
principals in keeping schools open, and the protection provided by the South
African Police Service, have been greatly appreciated by the Department.
The Heads of Department condemned all acts of intimidation and violence
which had occurred during the strike, and called on the union leadership to
show stronger resolve in this regard. All Departments are committed to
enforcing the necessary disciplinary procedures as required, and to report
instances of professional misconduct to the professional council (South African
Council for Educators).
The meeting discussed possible recovery plans to compensate for the lost
teaching and learning opportunities. The Department has agreed that television
will be extensively used to provide "catch-up programmes" for learners during
the July holidays. In addition, every province has prepared recovery plans,
based on different scenarios, and as soon as there is a decision to return to
work, these plans will be discussed with the teacher unions.
Directives will be provided to all schools regarding the holding of mid-year
exams, where these have not yet been conducted.
Learners are urged to make use of the July holidays for self-study, and are
reminded that there are still 120 days before the end of year examinations. If
these days are well used for intensive teaching and learning, there is no
reason for them not to succeed in these examinations.
All heads expressed the wish that the dispute be resolved as soon as
possible.
Issued by: Department of Education
14 June 2007
