By Johannah Malogadihlare
The KwaZulu-Natal education department has moved to allay fears that teachers will not be paid due to insufficient funds.
This follows media reports that the department would struggle to cover more than 2000 teachers’ salaries in the budget.
“The funds for the payment of teachers’ salaries will continue to be ringfenced from the allocated budget, which makes the payment of salaries guaranteed,” said provincial education spokesperson Mlu Mtshali.
“We wish to state for the record that the teachers are and will continue to be the most valuable assets of the education sector. They are an important part of the reason why the department of education in KwaZulu-Natal continues to perform despite the successive cuts to its budget.”
Mtshali said in a statement on Tuesday that the department had no intention of disrupting teachers’ livelihoods by withholding salaries.
He said education MEC Sipho Hlomuka would provide details on the budget during the department’s budget vote speech next week.
INSIDE EDUCATION
