Future is doomed without teachers,union maintains
" When i discovered that there were teachers who wanted to leave the proffession,I got worried ".
MBOMBELA -Teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate. It is estimated that some
2 400 letters of resignation have been tendered in the province.
This was revealed during the Teacher’s Call Initiative that was held last week at eMalahleni Civic Centre where the MEC for education, Ms Reginah Mhaule interacted with teachers and raised this matter as a cause for serious concern.
“Let me first indicate that a nation that wants to prosper, invests in education because without it, hopelessness and poverty will be high in the country.
“I believe that the only way to fight this is through dedicated teachers who bring good quality education. They are resourceful, not only in education, but also in our societies. They made us who we are today and eMalahleni is leading the province in resignations,” she explained.
Mhaule said she noted that there were some who wanted to leave the profession, but due to her busy schedule, she decided to speak with them directly.
“When I discovered that there were teachers who wanted to leave the profession, I got worried and decided to speak directly with them so that they could also have platform to voice their frustrations,” she explained.
The provincial secretary of the South African Teachers Union (SADTU),
Mr Walter Hlaise said,
“There are two reasons why they resign. The first is greener pastures and the second, a rumour that they may lose their pensions if they remain in the profession longer.
“SADTU wants to assure teachers that their pension money is safe and we urge them to stay because without them, our future is doomed,” he said.
I taught for 21 years and became a principal. for 8 months I earned sitting at home because the sgb refused to accept someone from outside the community. I had no choice but to resign. the department failed to intervene.
secondly the salary is a poverty salary. it deeps more teachers into debt. honestly they spend more time trying to survive hence quality teaching and learning is dealt a serious blow.