Victory for FEDSAS and South African Teachers' Union (SAOU) in the Eastern Cape

"A major victory for schools and for the rights of learners." This is how Mr Paul Colditz, chief executive officer of FEDSAS, and Mr Chris Klopper, chief executive officer of SAOU, described yesterday's (14 July 2011) ruling in a court case involving three Eastern Cape schools and the Eastern Cape Education Department.

The Eastern Cape schools walked out of the High Court as victors yesterday in the court case on the appointment of teachers in vacant posts. In the court case, with the assistance of the administrator who was appointed by the national minister of education, Mr Mtanzima Mweli, a settlement was reached and the settlement was made an order of the court.

The court case has a long history with the Eastern Cape Education Department in such a chaotic state that it forced the Cabinet to take a decision that the administration of the department be taken over by the national department in terms of article 100 of the Constitution.

However, posts that were vacant at schools remained vacant, without any progress. Three schools were involved and instituted legal proceedings as a class action on behalf of all public schools in the Eastern Cape. The governing bodies of the three schools, P J Olivier High School in Grahamstown, Bergsig School in Uitenhage, and Setlaars Park Primary School in Port Elizabeth, are all members of FEDSAS.

As a result of staff shortages, because the Eastern Cape Department of Education refused to fill vacant posts, the schools involved faced partial or complete closure.

On advice from the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS) and the South African Teachers' Union (SAOU) and with their financial support the schools went to court to get staff appointed urgently.  

Colditz and Klopper described yesterday's court victory as follows: "This means that there will be sufficient teachers in classrooms.  Schools are encouraged to identify suitable staff for appointment in temporary posts until the end of the year and see to it that staff are appointed in accordance with the court order.

"We also want to emphasise that a thorough process was stipulated by the court order to prevent the chaos of the past year repeating itself - thus the provision in the order that the number of posts for next year be made available to schools on 30 September this year and that vacant posts are then advertised."

Colditz and Klopper expressed the hope that this action of FEDSAS and SAOU will lay the foundation for the return of stability in the education department, which was hovering on the brink of total collapse.

FEDSAS is a voluntary association of school governing bodies of public schools and supports quality education in these schools. Some 1200 public schools are already members of FEDSAS).

Statement issued by FEDSAS and the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysersunie, July 15 2011

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