Teachers unions and the Western Cape Education Department have joined forces to save jobs in the profession by converting contract appointments to permanent posts for qualifying staff.
Education MEC David Maynier says the more than R800 million allocated to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) in the province’s adjustment budget will not save teacher posts.
The WCED has been under pressure to reverse its decision to terminate 2 407 teacher contract posts in January, citing the National Treasury’s budget cuts to several departments.
Finance MEC, Deidré Baartman initially appeared to allay fears when she tabled the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement and the Adjustments Budget allocating millions to the WCED on Tuesday.
“The Provincial Treasury is allocating R250 million to the Western Cape Education Department from the Provincial Revenue Fund to deal with their COE (Compensation of Employee) pressure.
The residual spending pressure amounting to R105 million will be covered through the acceleration of matching and placement of teachers. This has the potential to decrease the current pressure in the system and reprioritise slow-spending items within the department.
“Further, the Provincial Treasury will unearmark R600 million in provincial equitable share within the WCED’s infrastructure allocation to provide further manoeuvrability within the Department’s vote.
Speaker, what this means is there will be enough funding within the Department’s budget to deal with its current projected pressure,” Baartman said.
Despite this, Maynier maintained that teacher cuts were not off the table.
“The residual budget pressure refers to the deficit after cutting 2407 teaching posts. The additional allocation towards reducing the remaining budget deficit will have no effect on the reduction in posts. We will continue to do everything we can to fight for our teachers in the Western Cape,” said Maynier.
GOOD Party secretary-general Brett Herron said they were shocked to hear that the MEC said the R850 million in budget reallocation to his department will not save 2 400 teacher posts.
“We initially welcomed the allocations as we understood them to address the current, widely publicised teacher cuts. But we have since learnt that the MEC says the funding will not save the jobs. In her Maiden Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, Finance MEC Deidré Baartman detailed how money would be made available within the WCED’s budget to deal with ‘immediate teaching post pressures’. It is unclear if this wording was chosen as a deliberate attempt to appease critics or if it was genuinely a poor choice of words,” Herron said.
He said the Western Cape had enough money to save teachers’ jobs, but it has chosen to spend it on other things.
“This is a self-made and avoidable funding crisis. The provincial government claims that national government’s budget cuts left them with no choice but to cut 2407 teaching posts. However, instead of using the education money allocated to the Western Cape, by the National Treasury as the Provincial Equitable Share, for education, the Western Cape has taken two percent of this money to spend on other things.
Teachers and learners are entitled to a stable education system and the public is entitled to clear and honest communication,” said Herron.
The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) in the province said they would be meeting with the WCED on Friday where the matter would be added to the agenda.
“We welcome the intention by the (Treasury) to augment the budget of the WCED. We hope it will be able to cover all the teacher posts that would have been lost for 2025. We also feel that it (should) be used to augment the budget for infrastructure as we know in the province we have a challenge of unplaced learners at the beginning of the year,” Sadtu provincial secretary, Sibongile Kwazi said.
National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA (Naptosa) provincial head, Riedwaan Ahmed said they needed to be consulted on how the WCED intended to spend the funds.
“What we do know, the provincial treasury has indicated they will, to stabilise the system, offer early retirement without penalty. It won’t go towards the cutting of posts.
“That will create vacancies. (They need) to consult us in the province, (about) where they are going to use this particular money in the interest of education in this province,” said Ahmed.
“There is still a great need for educators in the province. We have met with the (higher education sector) about the concerns they have, they have not received many applications for students wanting to study education. Job security has become a concern for students, who fear if they study to become a teacher they will be struggling to find jobs.”
Cape Times