MoESD and BEC should come down to mother earth!

| Monday November 1, 2010 00:00

Teachers have always decried the pathetic conditions they exist under.  Issues like housing, parallel progression, levels of operation, scarce skill, invigilation and marking always crop up, but no one ever listens.

BEC takes the prize.  Earlier in the year, they invited teachers for marking.  They took it for granted that invigilation would run smoothly.  After the court case that exonerated teachers from marking, BEC should have smelled the coffee.  Instead of taking the issue seriously, BEC started to negotiate the issue in very bad faith.

ltimately, they arrogantly issued press releases to the effect that they were no longer interested in negotiating with teacher unions.

It takes a rocket scientist to deduce whether they had plan B.  In their minds, they thought teachers would automatically invigilate as they always did.  All the teachers asked for was P150 per invigilation after thorough benchmarking, but BEC was adamant that they were only prepared to pay a measly P30, peanuts that should only attract monkeys.

There are now reports that they are paying their 'invigilators' more than what the teachers requested, so this is a simple case of 'fixing' the teachers.  At this stage, I would ask God to forgive BEC, for they know not what they are doing. 

On the surface, the irregular invigilation that is currently going on might not look very serious, but the future repercussions might be too ghastly to comprehend.   They are riding roughshod over all their rules and regulations with impunity.  History will indeed, judge them very harshly.

The MoESD is not faring any better.  The honourable minister was supposed to act as an arbitrator between BEC and the teacher unions, but she instead arrogated herself the unenviable task of being BEC's spokesperson. The minister, as is the norm, is the only one who appears on state media and assures the nation that all is well with invigilation, though the situation on the ground dictates otherwise.

There has already been a chronicle of irregularities concerning the invigilation, but they are conveniently never mentioned or simply swept under the carpet.

What has happened to the dear old animal called balanced reporting?  In a very recent event, on October 22 2010, a Deputy Head in a Junior Secondary School authorised a teacher of French language from a Senior Secondary School to listen to the JC final Exams listening comprehension passage cassette in the school.

The exam regulations stipulate that the tape has to be opened and listened to an hour before the examination.  This did not happen in other schools, please tell me if this is fair to students.  If the minister is interviewed on state radio or television, the unions should also be represented to portray their side of the story.

The teachers had intended to petition the ministry on October 20 2010, but permission to do so was not granted without any valid reasons given.  For God's sake, this was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration.  What more should the poor teachers do in order to air their grievances.

Then there are teachers who are betraying the struggle.  Not that I am blaming them, for it is within their rights to do so, but what is in it for them.  When the benefits of the struggle come in monetary terms, they are the first to smile all the way to the bank, with a clear consciences. 

What is even more disturbing is that these teachers, and other public servants, including high-ranking ones, leave their stations of duty to perform BEC work. 

Who does their job in their absence?  Perhaps their job descriptions have been modified so that they engage in gainful employment somewhere else, but surely this is contradicting the New Public Service Act.

The eight-hour working issue that teachers are complying with means that co-curricular issues have sidelined.  But this does not seem to bother the powers that be in the least.  If teachers were to be paid overtime, things would go back to normal.

On a refreshing note, it is in order that the school heads and their deputies who are not invigilating be congratulated, for they understand their jobs perfectly.  We take it that parents understand what this means to the future of their children. 

The NGOs and churches are completely silent on the issue, which is not proper.  Though political parties have entered the fray, it is still not enough.  It is consoling to note from the press that a motion on the issue will be debated in parliament.

The teacher unions are still open to negotiations, so the ball is in the court of BEC and MoESD.  For the interest of the lives of innocent students, I hope this impasse will be resolved amicably sooner rather than later before any further damage is done.

Boitumelo DitirwaGABORONE