King Cetshwayo graduates seek improved employment procedures
The graduates want the department to inform them of the correct procedures to be followed by job seekers
SCORES of unemployed graduates marched to the Department of Education’s King Cetshwayo district offices to hand over a memorandum of grievances on Tuesday.
The graduates want the department to inform them of the correct procedures to be followed by job seekers when applying for teaching jobs in KZN.
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They claim the department initially urged them to submit their names for inclusion on a database, and in February the MEC for education introduced an app for job seekers, but it doesn’t work.
One graduate, Zakhele Mntambo, said they had no option but to defy the lockdown regulations to raise their frustrations.
‘We spent years in universities to acquire our qualifications, yet we are still jobless. I have been unemployed for almost four years.
‘When I approached the Department of Education to make inquiries about vacancies, they told me about the database and then the job seeker app, which is not working.
‘We only want a fair chance. They must advertise all vacancies as they do in other provinces so that we can apply,’ Mntambo said.
Another frustrated graduate, Nozipho Mpanza, said as job seekers they are prohibited from door-to-door job hunting at schools.
‘The government centralised everything by introducing the database and the app. Before the lockdown, we met with the District Director of Education, Dr David Chonco, with whom we raised all our concerns,’ said Mpanza.
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She added they intend intensifying their protest action by lobbying other districts to become part of the campaign and stage mass protests at the provincial office.
Chonco said he met with the protesters and addressed them.
‘It is true that the app is not working. I met with the graduates and listened to their grievances. They also submitted their list, which I will send to the provincial office, which is responsible for enlisting candidates,’ Chonco said.
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