Eastern Cape TVET College in crisis for eight weeks with no solution in sight

11 March 2015

I have written an urgent letter to the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande, pressing upon him the need for immediate and far-sighted action to resolve the deep and ongoing problems at Eastern Cape Midlands Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College in Uitenhage.

More than 160 of the staff at the College have been on strike for eight weeks and 66 of them have been fired, with little clarity as to the reasons for their dismissal. Students are now being taught by other students. 

The students have themselves begun to protest the situation. But they have been water-cannoned and teargased as a result, and prevented by the police from entering the police station to complain. The community has begun to join in the protests, and local structures have threatened to render Uitenhage ungovernable until a solution is found. 

The problems, according to staff at the college, stem from complaints about salary levels of staff. There are also claims of corruption allegations surrounding the Principal. A Deloitte investigation into the matter appears to have been shelved, while mediation efforts have been cancelled before they have got going. 

It is shocking that the Ministry has been unable to resolve these issues in two months, and that teaching has essentially not been taking place over this period. Urgent steps are required to bring peace and stability to this fraught situation.

Staff and students want to get on with their work and are desperate for a solution. Minister Nzimande and Director-General (D-G) Gwebs Qonde are nowhere to be seen. Why are they not working to reach an end to the solution? They profess to care about students and their education, but in this case their heads appear to be firmly embedded in the sand. Action must now be taken.

Statement issued by Prof Belinda Bozzoli MP, DA Shadow Minister of Higher Education and Training, March 11 2015

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