By Moshoeshoe Monare. Independent
Online. South Africa. April 22 2001 at 09:25PM.
South Africa's teachers are angry with Education Minister Kader Asmal and
his department for importing Cuban teachers without consulting them.
Hassen Lorgat, spokesperson for the South African Democratic Teachers Union
(Sadtu), said: "We are very unhappy with the way Asmal has handled the
issue. We don't know any details."
He added, however, that South Africa had a lot to learn from Cuba.
"Cuba values its teachers as professionals, not people to be
retrenched, dumped, or have their holidays taken away. But if the teachers are
here to take our jobs, there will be a big problem."
Sadtu planned to hold an urgent meeting with Asmal and Cuba's ambassador to
South Africa to discuss the issue, he said.
Asmal's spokesperson, Molatwane Likhethe, dismissed the teachers' fears. "There
have been concerns, particularly about language, but one of the conditions is
that the teachers will speak English. These people will come to train our
teachers, they won't take jobs away."
Meanwhile, it has also emerged that the minister plans to dissolve school
governing bodies that are no longer functioning.
The proposal to allow the dissolution of governing bodies that are unable to
perform their duties and replace them with curators is mooted in an amendment to
the South African Schools Act in the latest Government Gazette.
When a school is under such curatorship, the superintendent-general is
expected to ensure the election of a new governing body within a year.
So far the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has appointed curators to
replace principals at schools where there has been a managerial collapse.
Lebelo Maloka, a GDE spokesperson, said no governing body had been dissolved
by the provincial department so far.
Schools and interested parties have until May 7 to comment to the minister.
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