‘Poor leadership, incompetence’ to blame for KZN education downfall, says teaching union

The National Teachers’ Union (NATU) has implored the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to consider invoking Section 100 of the Constitution and intervene in the administration of the KZN Provincial Education Department (PED).

In their recent national executive meeting, NATU concluded that for several years, the KZN PED has demonstrated incompetence, poor leadership, and incapacity to administer the affairs of this critical department.

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Union president Sibusiso Malinga said more specifically, over the past few weeks, the KZN PED has been in the headlines for awfully wrong reasons.

“In the meantime, the entity’s administrative blunders have had a devastating effect on the entire schooling system in the province, with the consequent adverse effect of subverting the achievements that the system has gained over the years,” said Malinga.

“The recent school nutrition scandal, which resulted in more than two million poverty-stricken children being deprived of their only daily meal, is a case in point.”

He further pointed out that the feeding scheme in the province nearly collapsed, owing to poor leadership from the executive authority.

“We shudder to imagine what more damage would have befallen the learners had the DBE minister not intervened as swiftly as she did,” argued Malinga.

He said from the union’s perspective the ‘KZN PED is in ICU’, needing urgent intervention to prevent a definite death.

“It is for all [these] reasons that we implore the minister of basic education to intervene in the administration of KZN PED affairs in line with her powers under Section 100 of the Constitution,” added Malinga.

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