A shortage of teachers will continue to affect KwaZulu-Natal schools in the 2022 academic year as the provincial Education Department says it lacks the funds to fill vacant posts. FilePhoto: Matthew Jordaan
Durban – A SHORTAGE of teachers will continue to affect KwaZulu-Natal schools in the 2022 academic year as the provincial Education Department says it lacks the funds to fill vacant posts.
The department made the announcement on Friday when it was addressing the media about its financial challenges. However, it said that it had resolved to hold off on retrenchments.
Last month, The Mercury reported that the department was facing budgetary constraints and that it had been instructed by the provincial treasury to reduce its headcount, which affected 6 114 workers, of which 2 300 are teachers.
In addition, the department had previously revealed that there were more than 2 000 vacant posts in the province that needed to be filled.
At the beginning of this financial year, the department announced that its budget was being cut by R6.343 billion and that it also faced a possible R9bn budget deficit for 2022, and R11bn for 2023.
KZN Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu said they had been engaged in a painstaking process with all relevant stakeholders to avert retrenchments and the collapse of the education system.
The matter was brought to the attention of the Provincial Executive Council (PEC) as Mshengu was, by law, due to make a proclamation regarding the number of teachers the sector would have for the 2022 academic year.
Speaking during the briefing on Friday, Mshengu said that KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala had been at the forefront of engaging with the National Treasury, including raising the matter with the Presidency.
He said that while there was nothing concrete yet from the National Treasury in terms of additional funding, the PEC had resolved that the department must retain its existing staff.
Mshengu said this meant that the department would retain its staff of 90 057 teachers currently in the system.
However, he said the 2 000 vacant posts would not be filled.
“We will not, however, be able to fill the new 2 000 necessary posts that are required as a result of the changes in the curriculum,” said Mshengu.
He added that the department still needed to engage further to avoid possible future budget cuts.
Mshengu said that the province had about 6 000 schools, with 72% of those in rural and township areas.
He said that while the department received 40% of the provincial equitable share, the reality was that 83% of its budget went to the salaries of employees, and the situation worsened when conditional grants were removed.
“In essence, the department is always left with a tiny budget to run other necessary projects/programmes such as infrastructure, pupil transport, ICT roll-out and payment of Norms and Standards to schools, which is below the national threshold,” he stated, adding that the impact of these budget cuts was felt severely at the classroom level, where they mattered the most.
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union in KZN welcomed Mshengu’s announcement on holding off retrenchments.
The union’s provincial secretary, Nomarashiya Caluza, said there was no doubt that this decision was celebrated by teachers and education workers who were already in the system.
THE MERCURY
Related Topics: