By Loushe Jordaan Gilbert
As the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) plans to do away with more than 2000 teachers at the end of the 2024 academic year, many are left anxious and concerned about what the education landscape will look like in the future.
Speaking on VOC Breakfast, Aslam Fataar, Professor in the Department of Education Policy Studies at Stellenbosch University and currently a Research & Development Professor attached to the institution’s Transformation Office said the recent announcement by the WCED is an abomination that will wreak havoc on schools and communities, exacerbating their already dire circumstances and making survival even more challenging.
“How can such a significant number – 2 500 teachers – be let go in one swoop? Schools have long been at the receiving end of teacher number adjustments, learning at the end of each year that they must reduce their staff and adjust teacher-to-learner ratios and class sizes, always to the detriment of teaching and learning,” he added.
According to Fataar, the province is unable to decrease the number of educators since it already has a problem with overcrowding in schools, widespread hunger, and teachers who work really hard to provide education.
Fataar further said that there will be a significant impact on both fee-paying and non-fee-paying schools as a result of this.
“Fee paying schools will now increase their fees, placing added pressure on parents who are already trying to make ends meet, while no fee-paying schools will lose teachers, schools that simply are in no position to afford losing teachers as schools are already overcrowded and the teacher to student ratio is already not on parr,” he added.
Political and civil society must oppose this proposed teacher retrenchment, slated to start in January 2025. The Government of National Unity (GNU) must be pressured to do the right thing and defend and protect our schools and the communities they serve, Fataar stated.
