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Thursday, December 19, 2024

Still no word from N.West on teacher numbers for schools

By Johnathan Paoli

The Suid Afrikaanse Onderwyse Unie (SAOU) has reiterated its demand for the North West education department to submit a new report concerning the post provision mechanisms (PPMs) to schools, following inaccuracies and delays in previous attempts.

Speaking to Inside Education on Monday, SAOU provincial secretary Johan Kruger, expressed his disappointment in the department’s delay in attending the matter.

“Unfortunately, the department left everybody in the dark, so to speak. The PPMs are incorrect. The department does not even answer our attorney letters,” Kruger said.

The union issued a letter of demand earlier in the month, calling on the department to withdraw the PPM report compiled late November as it allegedly contains numerous inaccuracies.

However, Kruger confirmed the department had failed to respond to the demand by the deadline and that, SAOU was currently considering taking further legal steps.

Additionally, the letter demanded written confirmation that the same PPM as was set for 2024, be applied to public schools in respect of the 2025 academic year.

The union claims that more than 100 schools in the province are affected by the adjusted PPM.

“The result of the unlawful conduct by the department is that principals and educators are placed under enormous stress because they are not able to finalise their planning for 2025. Ultimately, quality education is negatively affected,” the letter reads.

Last month, in a letter to education MEC Viola Motsumi, HOD Maropeng Seshibe and other senior education officials, Kruger expressed grave concern over the department’s inability to meet its statutory obligations.

He said some of the key errors included inconsistent weightings used to calculate teacher allocations being inexplicably increased, and several primary schools reporting that Grade R enrolments were omitted from calculations, reducing their post allocations.

And, schools catering to learners with special educational needs found discrepancies in weightings based on disability classifications, while some schools did not receive the additional posts promised in initial drafts.

It is understood that department will announce a comprehensive PPM report later this week, as well as other measures to be undertaken to address the crisis.

INSIDE EDUCATION

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