POLOKWANE – With recent uncertainties as to whether they still had jobs or not at Westenburg Secondary School, two of the three temporary teachers at the school accepted work at private companies and will not return to the school.
This while the school is challenged by a serious shortage of teachers.
The three temporary teachers did not receive their salaries for January or February.
Parents donated R100 per household where possible, so that these teachers would at least have some kind of income.
According to a source, the funds collected had covered less than a quarter of the temporary teachers’ salaries.
On Sunday February 22 Westenburg Secondary School’s school governing body (SGB) and acting principal, Jimmy Steele, met with learners and their families as well as other interested parties in the community.
At the meeting it was explained that the school had thought that the three temporary teachers who had taught at the school last year, would automatically continue teaching there this year. However, when the teachers did not receive their salaries, it came to light that the department had not reappointed these teachers.
The SGB explained in the meeting that, according to the department, specific administration regarding skills matching had to be completed before they could make a decision on appointing temporary teachers, and this process could take a month or two.
In the meantime the three teachers would not be working at the school.
Two of these teachers had been giving classes in both English and Afrikaans, as the school is a dual medium school that had experienced a problem with a lack of classes in Afrikaans in the past.
“There will be a shortage of Afrikaans teachers at the school again and the learners will fall behind with their work. This is not the first time that the department did not pay temporary teachers.
“The department owes two out of the three teachers several months’ salary backdating to 2012, 2013 and last year. In those years they were working at Good Hope Primary School, before they were asked to come and work at Westenburg Secondary School,” a source revealed.
It was also revealed in the meeting that the school had enrolled more learners, and that there was now a shortage of four more teachers. This brought the shortfall of teachers at the school to seven.
Review asked the teachers concerned for their comment, but they referred the matter to the department of education for comment. The teachers did however confirm that they had not been paid for January and February.
Parents who spoke to Review on condition of anonymity said two of the three teachers affected had left the school. Only one teacher remained despite not receiving his salary.
SGB chairperson, Eugene Lyle, confirmed that the two teachers were working elsewhere and that the department had now finally appointed one of the three teachers.
“We have received a positive response from the department since the matter was laid on the table.
“We are still waiting for feedback from the department on the three temporary teacher’s salary payments for January and February.
“We are still in talks with the department to appoint more teachers at the school,” Lyle said.
He added that the situation was bad at the school, because the children were without teachers for certain subjects.
“We have learning material that the learners read through, but there is no one to explain it to them. Teachers who have free periods supervise the learners.
He said another matter that was discussed between him, Steele, and the department was that the school needed to appoint teachers that could teach in both English and Afrikaans.
“The department will look into the school’s personnel composition and appointment of temporary teachers. Westenburg Secondary School is a dual-medium school, but a huge percentage of the teachers are only able to teach in English.
“The department will then look at the possibility of placing teachers who can teach in both Afrikaans and English at the school.
“We also sent a request to the department for five temporary teachers to be appointed. These teachers are needed because we had an increase in the number of enrolments this year,” Lyle said.
Following several attempts over the past two weeks to get comment from the department through the department’s corporate services senior general manager, Maylene Broderick, as well as department spokesperson, Paena Galane, Galane responded to Review’s request just before going to print, and only after Review informed Galane of its intention to bring the matter to the education MEC’s attention.
According to Galane, educators were appointed according to the schools’ post establishment and all those posts had been filled.
“If additional educators are required due to increased enrolment, the principal is required to make an application for temporary educators,” he explained, adding that a decision would then be made by the department.
Galane said all temporary teachers would have been paid according to their contracts, which were terminated on December 31 last year.
“We will investigate the claims by the two teachers.
“If they are employed by the department and have a contract to substantiate that, a salary would have been received,” Galane said.
He further asked for the two teachers’ full details so that the department could investigate the matter.
