The decision by the Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal to close over 1 000 schools on election day next week has been met with mixed reactions.
The Department is expected to hand over schools across the province to the Electoral Commission (IEC) from May 27 during special voting until May 31 beyond election day.
While the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) in KwaZulu-Natal has welcomed the announcement by the Department, the National Teachers’ Union (Natu) has expressed concern over the fact that teaching will be halted.
Natu says this decision will negatively impact teaching and learning as some exams that were to be written in the upcoming week will now have to be rescheduled.
The Union’s secretary general Doctor Ngema also expressed disappointment claiming they had not been consulted as a union.
“We are actually disappointed by the determination of the head of the department in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, which happened without any consultations with the stakeholders, including the school governing bodies. Moreover, we are also concerned that the department expects the principals of schools to develop catchup programs when in actual fact this is not their own doing,” he says.
He adds: “It’s like they (teachers) are punished now to say they must develop the catch-up plan.”
Over the years, schools have been closed only on voting day.
But Sadtu KZN secretary Nomarashiya Caluza says the decision by the department was a vital component of democracy.
“It’s the national department that took this decision, especially because the elections are a national responsibility. The schools that belong to government have always been used as voting stations, so it would not be correct to have elections and also allow teaching and learning to take place. That would in a way also cause some disruptions, so there is nothing wrong with the decision. We welcome it because it comes from the government.”
She maintains the department will however, have to come up with a recovery plan.
