The provincial education department has promised that temporary teachers, who have not been paid since they were appointed in January, will receive their salaries next week, as principals at Grahamstown schools express their frustration over the situation.
The provincial education department has promised that temporary teachers, who have not been paid since they were appointed in January, will receive their salaries next week, as principals at Grahamstown schools express their frustration over the situation.
The Eastern Cape department of education terminated the contracts of more than 4 000 temporary teachers last year and appointed more temporary teachers in January. Victoria Girls' High School principal, Warren Schmidt, said, Here at VG we were supposed to have four temporary teachers, but only one received a letter of appointment from the department of education and that single teacher has not received a salary.
Nathaniel Nyaluza which is currently struggling without a principal, had not been allocated any temporary teachers during the January spate of hirings, said teacher George Lamani, and there had been no explanation.
Nombulelo Secondary School principal Mthuthuzeli Kondile said their temporary teachers had not been paid.
Kondile said he had even been to the education department's district office to ask about the situation. Department spokesman Loyiso Pulumani confirmed that the temporary teachers had not been paid and said the reason was that National Treasury had turned down the department's request for funds for salaries.
The issue is that now is the end of the financial year and that is the reason we were unable to get the funds. But I can assure that by next week Wednesday they will get their salaries, Pulumani said.
South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) Eastern Cape deputy secretary Nolitha Mboniswa said Sadtu was due to meet yesterday to discuss what actions to take about the delay in re-employing temporary teachers and the failure to pay those appointed in January.
