South Africa: Teacher Unions Join in Education Campaign
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Business Day (Johannesburg)
10 October 2008
Posted to the web 10 October 2008
Luphert Chilwane and Sue Blaine
Johannesburg
EDUCATION Minister Naledi Pandor and teacher unions yesterday launched a new Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign, aimed at garnering social support for education in SA.
The launch follows a resolution adopted at the African National Congress's Polokwane conference last December, in which the party vowed that health and education would be at the centre of its social transformation programme for the next five years.
Pandor said the campaign emanated from many events that had shaped education in SA, from the 1955 adoption of the Freedom Charter, which promises that "education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children", to last year's conference.
It was no mistake that the campaign was being launched in October, the month in which International Teachers' Day was celebrated, Pandor said.
She urged community leaders, teachers, pupils, parents, education department officials and the teacher unions to commit to the various codes of conduct written up for the campaign, and to make the campaign a success through concrete action.
"Education in the world is a major key to social change. There is no society that has developed without education, so there is a need for us to do more, to improve basic skills such as reading, writing and learning," Pandor said.
South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) general secretary Thulas Nxesi, who represents 230000 of SA's 380000 teachers, said the campaign showcased the "non-negotiables" in education.
He committed Sadtu members to the code of conduct for teachers, including being at school on time, not being drunk or abusive, maintaining good communication and improving their own knowledge and skills.
Nxesi said it was a pity principals were not singled out by the campaign, because they had the responsibility of leading their schools and could not do so if they were afraid to discipline their teaching staff.
The National Professional Teachers' Organisation of SA, National Teachers' Union, Professional Educators' Union and Suid Afrikaanse Onderwysersunie also committed themselves to the campaign.
Pandor said buy-in from the teacher unions was the most significant step in the campaign. She also had strong words for unions that stood up for teachers who were irresponsible or abusive.
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"It can never be the task of a union to protect these teachers," she said.
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