Western Cape MEC's budget: Where is the Premier and MEC's performance contract?
As SADTU Western Cape we have following preliminary comments.
We are disappointed in the MEC for not acknowledging his predecessors who laid the foundation for the improvement of the education system in the Western Cape. It was MECs Dugmore and Gabro who put systems into place that are now assisting MEC Grant to reap the benefits. SADTU applauds his predecessors. MEC Grant and the current exco can learn from these visionaries who had constantly consulted the representatives of the workers in the form of the trade unions. Currently we are left out of the loop and learn of processes in the media.
Any halt in the declining of an education system needs a joint response and educators play an important role in this process.
On the contracts of Principals and Deputy Principals; we are of the view that the law is ultra vires and the MEC and Premier had overstepped their powers. The conditions of service of educators are a national competency and not the province. The union will resist the implementation of this law and regulation. The same goes for inspection and all sections which contravene the conditions of service of educators in the Western Cape.
The provision of mobile classes for disadvantaged schools and the building of brick classrooms for previous advantaged schools smacks of disregard to the poor. Is it the policy of the present DA government to implement inferior facilities for the poor (mobile units) and brick structure for the advantaged. As SADTU, we object to this pro rich stance and call on the National department and Western Cape community to reject this pre 1994 philosophy of the DA government. "Shame on you Premier Zille"
Last year the WCED saw a reduction in the post basket in the Province, the first time in 4 years. Dugmore did not do it; Gabro did not do it. Grant did it. We are asking the question, with this budget, are we going to reduce the post again? It is rumoured that 300 support posts will be cut.
We are asking the MEC; where are the libraries, the science labs, the training for teachers at disadvantaged schools? If special mention is made of training advantaged schools, where the majority of the teachers are not from the designated group. The WCED has an obligation to National legislation.
This budget doesn't address class size in disadvantaged schools. A meager increase of 14 % in the budget can never address the overcrowding in poor schools. The MEC knows that the quintile system had failed us. Nothing was done to change this. Poor schools are in quintile 4 and 5 and therefore cannot employ additional staff to reduce the class sizes. How must a poor school compete with a class size of 55 with a rich school that has a class size of 20? We call upon the Western Cape Government to employ more teachers in poor schools to allow our members to give individual attention to learners.
This budget for 2011 is given an unsatisfactory score in terms of the performance contract of the MEC. This is clear that intervention programmes are needed similar to underperforming schools. Madam Premier; what is the intervention?
Statement issued by Jonavon Rustin, SADTU Western Cape Provincial Secretary, March 30 2011
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