“They are cutting their nose to spite their face” – Teachers blast Department

Staff reporter

Bloemfontein – Schools across the Free State are at loggerheads with the provincial Department of Education in a dispute that teachers warn could negatively affect matric results, with some educators threatening protest action.

This follows a decision by the provincial headquarters to withhold allocations to schools across the province, including institutions that had already complied with the department’s directives.

Education Department defend MEC’s children doing business with it

The matter has now drawn the attention of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) in the Free State, which on Thursday condemned what it described as the “abrupt stoppage” of Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM) allocations to schools.

In a statement, SADTU warned that textbooks, stationery and other learning materials form “the backbone of quality teaching and learning” and that the suspension of allocations would have “immediate and far-reaching consequences for learners, educators and the broader schooling community.”

Teachers who spoke on condition of anonymity described the move as both unprecedented and unlawful.

“This is not only unheard of, but unlawful. It is against policy to withhold allocations meant for textbooks, printing and photocopying, as well as materials required by technical schools,” said one teacher.

Another educator described the department’s actions as self-destructive.

“What the Department is doing is self-sabotage, cutting your nose to spite your face and with matric results the only thing that kept this collapsing government on top, this will have undesirable consequences,” the teacher said.

SADTU further argued that the stoppage undermines learners’ constitutional right to basic education as enshrined in Section 29 of the Constitution. The union also questioned the legality of the process, saying School Governing Bodies were not consulted before the decision was taken.

The union criticised what it called the department’s “blanket approach” in dealing with issues of non-compliance, warning that even compliant schools have now been crippled financially.

A departmental official defended the decision, saying compliance remained critical and warning that unused funds would eventually be returned to Treasury.

“The sad part is that if the money is not used, it will be returned to Treasury. But schools must account for what they used,” the official said.

SADTU has since called for the immediate restoration of the funds and an urgent meeting with both the MEC and the Head of Department.

The Department of Education has spent much of the past 12 months making headlines for the wrong reasons.

Last month, reports emerged of a school hostel described by some as being “worse than prison”, while school bus operators embarked on strike action over unpaid invoices.

WATCH | Brainsvlei Combined School Hostel: Conditions “Worse Than Prison”

Other news have also surfaced regarding the MEC’s children doing business with the department.

Critics say the department appears to be failing on multiple fronts. Politically, the MEC is constantly launching programmes and campaigns, yet administratively the department continues to struggle, from unpaid medical aid contributions to outstanding payments owed to service providers.

Frustration has also mounted over the department’s lack of responsiveness to media inquiries, with journalists often receiving no feedback from the spokesperson’s office.

Worse,the department can’t even profile its own achievements. Like we did with Boitumelo Secondary school in January, w will profile Bainsvlei Combined School to show how great the school is despite the department failing it.

WATCH | “ The sky is the limit” – Matshediso Malaba

Teachers now fear that unless urgent interventions are made, the situation could deteriorate further, with learners ultimately paying the price.

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