The statement below follows the final Essential Services Committee hearing on essential services in basic education, where DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, Khume Ramulifho MPL, made a verbal submission. DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Nomsa Marchesi MP presented the DA’s response to the submission by SADTU. Please find attached soundbites by Nomsa Marchesi MP, in isiXhosa, Sesotho and English, and in Afrikaans by DA Member of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, Sonja Boshoff MP.
Today, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Nomsa Marchesi MP, and DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, Khume Ramulifho MPL, attended the final Essential Service Committee (ESC) hearing on essential services in basic education.
We commend the ESC for the professional manner in which they have presided over the hearings and are pleased that they have taken the DA’s call to keep our children safe seriously.
Over the past two weeks, DA public representatives have travelled across the country, calling on the ESC to establish a minimum service level for school staff so learners can be safe during strikes or when staff members attend union meetings.
Earlier this year, two Eldorado Park Secondary learners stabbed each other while teachers were on strike. Such incidents can be avoided with proper adult supervision and the presence of some school staff while others are on strike can reduce risks to child safety.
The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), however, appears to have little regard for learner safety and have been misrepresenting our call to keep children safe by claiming that we want to take away the right of all teachers to strike.
This is not true; the DA believes in upholding the right of workers to strike, but we equally believe that the safety and well-being of learners must always be prioritized.
Our submission to the ESC is based on three main concerns that, when addressed, can improve learner safety:
- Leadership and safety: The presence of senior school staff is vital in ensuring communication with emergency services or other authorities in instances that threaten learner safety and during union meetings or strikes.
- Supervision: Adults must be on hand to supervise learners, maintain discipline and deal with threats to learners.
- Nutrition, health and hygiene: Learners who suffer from chronic illnesses, who have special needs and have specific health requirements will benefit from senior staff members always being around to take care of them. School staff also have a responsibility to ensure that learners have access to clean facilities and food.
With the hearings now completed, we trust that the ESC will favourably consider the submissions we have made over the past two weeks.
Establishing a minimum service level for school staff will allow children to learn without fear and help them become equipped with the skills they will need to get jobs and create prosperous futures for themselves.
SADTU must prioritise children and support our call to keep them safe. The union is jeopardising children’s futures and denying them the right to safety by refusing to help bring about a safe learning environment for them.