Note to Editors: Please note Sakhile Mngadi, MPL soundbites in English and IsiZulu
The DA in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is appalled by revelations that multiple schools in the province will be forced to disrupt teaching and learning tomorrow. This, as SADTU prioritises a Women’s Day celebration over the education and safety of learners.
Circulars issued by both Stanger Manor Secondary School (view here), Nonhlevu Secondary School (view here), also in Stanger, and Glenhills Primary School (view here) in KwaDukuza have confirmed that the majority of female SADTU members will abandon their teaching duties to attend the event at Stanger High.
Parents have been warned in writing that ‘normal schooling cannot be guaranteed’ and that ‘safety of learners will not be assured’ on the day. At Glenhills Primary, parents were specifically told that ‘teaching and learning will be disrupted from 08:30’.
This is not an isolated case – it is the coordinated abandonment of learners across KZN, sanctioned by SADTU, and tolerated by the province’s Department of Education (DoE). Instead of safeguarding our children’s right to education, schools are being left to collapse into chaos so that a union can host a party.
The DA condemns this in the strongest possible terms. Teachers are entrusted with the duty of care and instruction – not to desert classrooms for union festivities. The circulars themselves serve as written proof of dereliction of duty and the stranglehold SADTU has over our schooling system.
We will be referring this matter to the South African Council for Educators (SACE) and will demand disciplinary action against any educator who neglects their professional obligations to attend a union event.
We also call on KZN Education MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, to immediately intervene and ensure that schools remain open, safe and fully functional tomorrow (view here) – and have written to the MEC to that effect. We further request that the MEC and his HOD issue correspondence to all affected schools banning this dereliction and institute disciplinary measures, should staff not report to work tomorrow.
KZN’s learners deserve teachers who are committed to their education, not pawns of SADTU’s political agenda. The DA will continue to fight for the integrity of our schools and the protection of every child’s constitutional right to learn.