Minister Nzimande apologises to the South African Democratic Teachers Union on the administrative omission to mention the union amongst the stakeholders who participated in the Post School Education and Training Sector briefing on measures to combat COVID-19 pandemic
The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, unreservedly apologises to the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) for the administrative omission on the initial statement as released by the Department of Higher Education and Training amongst the stakeholders who participated on the post school education and training sector’s briefing on measures to combat CPDID-19 epidemic.
Minister Nzimande, met with the Universities South Africa (USAf), the South African College Principals Organisation (SACPO), the South African Students Union (SAUS) and labour unions (NEHAWU, SADTU, NAPTOSA, PSA and NTEU) as part of consultations on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on measures to combat the COVID -19 epidemic on the 17th March 2020.
“The omission of SADTU amongst the unions who participated in our meeting was purely an administrative error with no intention to cause harm or undermine SADTU’s contribution to our sector’s discussion on measures to combat COVID -19,” said Minister Nzimande.
“As a matter of fact, amongst other participants, SADTU positively enriched the discussions we had on the epidemic and we remain grateful to the union’s contribution, said Minister Nzimande.
Minister Nzimande further said that government and both the Departments of Higher Education and Training and Science and `innovation initiatives to combat COVID -19 would not be effective without the active participation of all the stakeholders in the sector.
As a corrective measure, the Department has updated the statement, as released on the 17th March 2020, in all the Departmental sanctioned media platforms.
“As a sector we will continue to meet with all stakeholders during this period to assess the situation relating to COVID-19 so that we can make any decisions on the basis of developments in relation to the virus,” confirmed Minister Nzimande.
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