DA calls on Department of Basic Education to provide relief to SGB-appointed teachers and school staff

9 June 2020

The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, to urgently consider relief funding for teachers and school support staff who are currently appointed in School Governing Body (SGB) posts.

A number of SGB-appointed teachers and support staff are not receiving their full salaries as funds are in many cases used to cover unbudgeted expenses brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and the reopening of schools after lockdown in a safe and responsible manner.

Some schools simply do not have the financial means to keep paying their SGB staff full salaries whilst at the same time ensuring that school premises open safely. Many parents have also not been able to pay school fees due to the devastating economic fallout from the Covid-19 lockdown.

With the school year turned on its head, learners cannot afford further disruptions to their education – especially losing teachers due to lack of funding. If anything, schools should seek to try and employ more teachers to minimize the damage done and ensure that the correct educational foundations are laid.

Proper social distancing protocols would also be easier to enforce if there are more teachers with less children per classroom.

The education system simply cannot afford to lose teachers at this critical time. The DA therefore urges Minister Motshekga to engage Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, to allocate additional funding to the Department of Basic Education when he tables the revised budget on 24 June 2020.

This funding should be used, not only to provide relief and save jobs of SGB teachers and staff, but also to further capacitate schools with teachers in order to enforce proper social distancing protocols in classrooms.

Issued by Belinda Bozzoli and Nomsa Marchesi, DA , 9 June 2020