Devastation looms for many schools after the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) announced that a shortfall in its budget will lead to the cutting of almost 2 400 contract posts in the province.
Last week schools in the province were informed of a R3,8 billion budget shortfall over the next three years, which means the Department will not reappoint contract teachers when their contracts end on 31 December.
Local schools, including False Bay Primary and Parel Vallei High School, say these cuts will affect their staff. “My personal opinion would be for the department to explore other cost-saving avenues, like perhaps reconsidering the BackonTrack (BOT) programme, where over a billion rand will be spent over a period of two to three years,” Desmond Engelbrecht, principal of False Bay Primary School in Macassar, suggested.
The BackonTrack programme is an initiative from the WCED to help learners catch up on work in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Engelbrecht says allowing teachers who are close to pension to take an early package without facing penalties could free up funds. “This will also allow for a cohort of younger teachers to come into the system. We are scheduled to have meetings with the Department this week which will surely give us a better understanding of how exactly we will be affected,” he says.
It seems the Department of Basic Education’s budget cuts affect schools in all nine provinces. Makanatsa Ziyambi of Equal Education said the public should put pressure on both the national and province education departments to meet its constitutional obligations towards learners. “These cuts are not just figures, these are existing jobs. Fewer teachers for more learners will have a long-lasting negative effect on the learners and their education. Overcrowding in classrooms is already an issue which will be escalated because of this,” Ziyambi says. She says it is especially learners of no-fees schools whose quality of education will suffer. The department warns the cuts in contract teachers could also lead to some permanent educators being asked to move to another school where there is a suitable vacancy. “We are in this position because we are being short-changed by the national government, receiving only 64% of the cost of the nationally negotiated wage agreement, leaving the province to fund the remaining 36%. Despite implementing a drastic R2,5 billion budget cut, including on administration, curriculum and infrastructure, we still face a R3,8 billion budget shortfall over the next three years,” the Department said in a statement on Friday (30 August).
In the case of False Bay Primary only one position will be lost, but other local schools are dependent on contract educators to round out the staff numbers needed to meet the demand of learner numbers.
David Schenck, the headmaster at Parel Vallei High in Somerset West, says although it is too early to comment accurately how the school will be affected the uncertainty of reducing the staff members brings its own challenges. “It’s a very sad day if we lose teachers, whether it’s a few or just one, the effect is very frustrating. There are still a lot of questions that remain unanswered and we are hopeful that a meeting this week with the relevant departments will give us a better idea on how to cope with any staff losses,” Schenck explained.
According to Education Minister David Maynier, he has raised the matter at the Council of Education Ministers for urgent action. “We should never have been put in this position, and we will do everything we can to fight for our teachers.”
