Teachers feel neglected (Part 2)

Correspondent | Friday June 13, 2014 15:10

 Teachers welfare and working conditions

Training of Teachers is a key to quality learning. We are not happy with the pace and backlog of training. A 2008 MoESD commissioned study by Bennel and Molwane revealed that there were (then) over 5,000 primary school teachers with PTC. The interventions to address these problems have not been successful.

It was only in 2012 that MoESD sponsored over 3,000 teachers for further studies.

Even then it has become evident from multiple budget crises that the Ministry was not prepared for the exercise. We also doubt that the Ministry has any plans how it would manage returning teachers in terms of progression, motivation and retention.

In the Colleges of Education a high staff turnover reflects stagnation due to limited opportunities and the refusal of MoESD to accede to PhD training even though the rest of government has long started sponsoring officers for this level of training.

Even where College lecturers have sponsored themselves for further studies, their reimbursements of fees remains an arduous task. Lecturers’ morale is at an all time low. There is little or low training of teachers on optimal use of ICT. Teachers purchase gadgets such as laptops, in the open market and effectively subsidise their employers. In-service training programme has just died-off and Regional Directors are doing nothing to revive it. Yet teachers need constant training in emerging issues and learning methodologies.

What started as an attempt to address teachers’ progression problems has ended as a tool in the hands of MoESD, who use it to appease and divide teachers. For instance a teacher with a degree qualification transferred from a junior secondary to a senior secondary school is now junior to his/her counterpart who remained at the lower school, possibly with a lower qualification.

Thus instead of equalising and abolishing the levels which created disparity, LoO created reverse disparities.

It is now a source of disgruntlement among teachers and lecturers who have been disadvantaged or excluded, especially in the Colleges of Education, Senior Secondary Schools and Technical Colleges. These cadres demand a pay structure befitting their status, responsibility and workload.

Class size (Student-Teacher Ratio): 20 years ago, RNPE recommended a STR of 1:35, against an international norm of 1:25. There has been virtually no movement towards this recommended standard – class sizes remain at the average of 45 students. Such a high STR compromises quality and fosters teacher-centered learning approaches as it is impossible for teachers to give learners direct personal attention or to maximise participatory learning.

Six years after the enactment of the Public Service Act there is still no clear regulation of hours of work and leave for teachers. At the end of every term MoESD issues temporary guidelines to survive the crisis from one term to another. 
 From August 2014 Semesterisation in the Colleges of education will start. Teachers unions have identified that it would put pressure on lecturers because of insufficient resources and shortage of staff. It would therefore lead to a drop in quality.

A Final Year Examinations crisis is also looming in the colleges of education as lecturers demand better remuneration commensurate with their input.

Supply of adequate ICT equipment: ICT plays an important role in improving the quality of learning. The supply of adequate ICT equipment is central in this process. Yet teachers still struggle to access internet as they are made to share limited computers in centralised laboratories.  Primary schools are being used by some government departments as a dumping ground for obsolete computers. Teachers Unions call for increased access to ICT for teachers and learners.

Teachers Unions are concerned that little is being done to protect and prepare teachers to deal with emerging social issues manifesting in deviant student behavior, such as Satanism, drugs and unruly behaviour.

These social problems emanate from society, outside the school environment and they pose a burden on teachers (especially Guidance and Counseling teachers) to control and manage them.

Teachers Unions are also concerned about the growing incidents of indiscipline behaviour by teachers.

We have stated many times as Teachers Unions that we do not tolerate, condone, defend or justify such acts of indiscipline, especially where teachers are involved in romantic relationships with students in Basic Education schools or the trading of marks in tertiary institutions.

While such acts may be individual and isolated cases, they also point to the delay in the establishment of the Teaching Council as such Teachers may be recycled into the system in private schools.  Since work on the Teaching Council Bill was long completed, we call on the Ministry to speed up the drafting and to table the Bill in parliament.Errant teachers who need help should be helped on time or taken through discipline rather than waiting for them to commit serious crimes which put learners at risk.

This Speech on Teachers Day by Teachers Trade Unions was erroneously attributed to EDWARD TSWAIPE of Trainers and Allied Workers Union. The fact is that the Speech was a joint work of all Teachers Trade Unions; BTU, BOSETU, TAWU and BOPRITU. On the day the speech was delivered by Frizon Moyo, TAWU Secretary General, on behalf of all Teachers Trade Unions. The error is regretted.