Teachers Strike

Zinhle Sokhela:  PCB Director

One wonders whether there has ever been a worse year for children in school.    First we had the Soccer World cup which both here and abroad assumed such importance that virtually everything else was sidelined, including education.   Schools closed for an extended period.  The reasons for this were not absolutely clear.   Whether they were good enough to warrant this disruption to the school year remains a topic for discussion.   Working parents must have been particularly anxious during this time as they had to leave their children at home, often unsupervised.  Now, many have had to do the same again, this time as the unwitting victims of industrial action on the part of teachers.

We are most concerned about matric results.   This is because they are regarded as super-important and the time available for losses to be made up is too short to be meaningful in many cases.   We must remember, however, that the achievements, good or bad, of scholars in their final year of school, are determined far more by the learning that they are able to do in the earlier years of their school careers than by what they are taught, or not taught, immediately prior to the matric exam.    Thus, all young people in school have lost weeks of learning this year.    They may have lost a good deal more because it is hard to believe that teachers who have sacrificed the welfare of their learners in pursuit of higher salaries, can be regarded as reliable in their dedication to them when they are back at work.    What seems to me to very relevant, and very sad, is that this ugly strike was about more than just a percentage salary increase.  Now that unions have decided to ‘suspend’ strike action, it has emerged that there are other matters to the negotiated, some of them to do with service level agreements which will define ‘essential services’.   This is on the agenda of unions rather than teachers who, in a way, became pawns in the struggle between government and union.   According to some commentators, what has been waged is part of the struggle for the soul of the ANC.   If this is true – History will judge – it is shocking that a generation of children should be the victims of the crossfire.

Yet the victimisation is not equal.   The children who have suffered the most are the ones from still-disadvantaged circumstances.    Private schools and many of those once called ‘model C’ have remained open and their teachers have declined to put themselves ahead of the responsibilities of what they regard as a calling.   Even if some of them have responded to unions’ calls to strike, others have made it possible for schools to operate.   By actively seeking to shut education down in order to “put pressure” on government, unions have perpetuated the realities of discrimination: the wealthy prosper, while the poor are the ones to suffer the most.

During the course of the strike, government claimed that its offer was 8,5% after all.   In what it hoped would be a convincing sleight of hand, the negotiators added the 1,5% which is earmarked for progression, and which was the subject of much earlier agreements.   This is an increment, awarded annually, to public servants whose performance is good enough to warrant it.   Teachers, I believe, get only 1% as a progression increase.   This is not automatic.   We don’t know what percentage of teachers earn and get this increase each year, but I suspect that it is higher than it should be.   It is a problem, especially within the public service, that appraisal systems seldom discriminate enough between those who exceed the normal expectations of the job and those who simply do it.   Sometimes, people are rewarded with bonus payments for doing only part of the job properly.    A teacher who may earn R12 000/month and who does her job well could expect a progression increase of R120/month.   I ask: is this adequate if the purpose is to encourage really good teaching?    I think not.   If education is to improve, good and dedicated teachers must be rewarded as highly-prized professionals who thoroughly deserve whatever increases are on offer.   In the public sector, they will never be enough, nor are they anywhere in the world.    Soccer players and entertainers earn millions and add little value; good teachers add immeasurable value but will never be wealthy.      

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