Latest news with #NomarashiyaCaluza
IOL News
4 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Funding crisis in KZN Education Department, R900m pledged 'not enough'
Sadtu provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza says all outstanding allocations need to be paid. Image: Independent Newspapers Archives The R900 million pledged by the provincial government to tackle the funding crisis in the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department is insufficient to deal with all the outstanding issues plaguing the province's schools. This is according to a political party and labour union who said yesterday that more funding was needed. One source claimed that an additional R700m was needed. Last week, the provincial government committed to providing R900m for schools and for norms and standards funding after labour unions downed tools, which led to the disruption of exams at some schools. There had been reports that, as a result of the failure to disburse the funds, some teachers have been using their own funds to pay for school operations. Some school principals have claimed they are borrowing money to run school operations. This failure comes amid concerns that the numerous budget cuts by the national government have crippled the department financially. KZN Premier Thami Ntuli had said R900m has been secured to clear outstanding norms and standards payments, with disbursements to schools expected within three weeks. He also said the filling of teaching posts and timely payment of permanent and substitute educators would be prioritised, compensation for Grade R practitioners will be reviewed, and payments to National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) service providers will be expedited to ensure uninterrupted food deliveries to schools. DA spokesperson Sakhile Mngadi noted the announcement from the Premier's Office regarding the allocation of R900 million to schools for norms and standards funding but said it was not enough. This funding is needed for operational costs, including the purchase of stationery, cleaning materials and to pay for municipal services, including water and electricity. He said close to R700 million additional funding was needed to deal with all the issues. 'While this is a step in the right direction, it is nowhere near enough to address the real crisis. The Department of Education is sitting with unpaid accruals, and hundreds of schools across the province are struggling to function due to months of delayed payments,' Mngadi stated. He also said that the protest by teacher unions, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu), had disrupted exams in some schools. 'Sadtu's action has disrupted primarily rural districts, with some exams being cancelled. The department isn't forthcoming about when the matter will be resolved.' Sadtu has warned that its members will continue with its work-to-rule campaign and union members will work the seven hours a day they are contracted to work. Teachers, especially those who teach grade 12, also hold extra morning, afternoon and weekend classes, which they are not paid for. Sadtu provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza commented, 'The money (R900m) is enough to cover the outstanding allocation to schools, which was supposed to be paid by May. What the union is fighting for is the allocation for May 2025 and the outstanding allocation for 2024. The union members are still working the contracted hours of 7 hours,' said Caluza. Regarding the exams, Sadtu said it has observed inconsistencies, with some schools cancelling exams while others proceeded as planned. The union said departmental leadership should provide clear guidance to ensure uniformity across all districts. The National Teachers' Union (NATU) said the intervention by the KwaZulu-Natal Premier was necessary. The union said its recent campaign, which included pickets at schools and district offices, has successfully pressured the provincial government to act on education funding. Thirona Moodley, provincial CEO of the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa, said the financial challenges in the province have a direct impact on teaching and learning. 'The silence of the department is deafening and unacceptable. The department has shown no effort to improve the current circumstances. We have no substitutes in schools, and schools are not being paid their financial allocations. How do we expect schools to function? The department has collapsed, and Napotosa calls on the DBE to urgently intervene as the province has failed. When will it be enough?' She added that there had been some disruption to exams due to the crisis, stating, 'Some schools did not have the resources to print exam papers, but I did not have many of my schools report this to me.' KZN Education Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi stated that they are in serious engagement with Sadtu. 'There is now common ground, and we are just attending to the modalities.' THE MERCURY
IOL News
11-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
KZN matric pupils face uncertainty as teacher unions initiate work to rule protest
Education experts have slammed this move and called on unions to 'stop using pupils as bargaining chips'. Image: AI/Facebook EXTRA classes for KZN matric pupils have been cancelled and the June exams postponed, after teacher union Sadtu announced its work-to-rule action. Education experts have slammed this move and called on unions to 'stop using pupils as bargaining chips'. This action will see teachers strictly adhere to the rules and regulations of their jobs, performing tasks exactly specified in their contracts and nothing more. Some schools in KZN have already sent out circulars to parents advising that extra classes for matric pupils had been cancelled and the postponement of the June examinations. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Sadtu provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza, said the education system in the province had collapsed due to various failures by the Department of Education' (DoE). 'There has been non-payment of the basic finance allocations and failure to adhere to national norms and standards. For example, for Quintile one to three schools, the DoE in KZN pays R955 per pupil instead of R1 602, resulting in a shortfall of R647. 'There was a failure to pay the basic finance allocation to schools and the acting allowances to office-based teachers and education workers. Schools have no money to procure other teaching and learning support resources. There was also the non-payment of service providers that supplied schools with stationery in January, and the non-payment of Grade R practitioners in April. 'There has been no participation of schools in extracurricular activities, as the department claims it has no funds. Teacher appreciation initiatives like the National Teaching Awards are under threat, as the department failed to organise this again in 2024 claiming it had no funds,' she added. Caluza said the department had engaged in 'silent retrenchment' processes as there was a moratorium on filling of vacancies for school clerks, teacher assistants, and security. 'The lack of security in schools is exposing teachers to danger. Two teachers had their vehicles hijacked at gunpoint on school premises in two months. The DoE's failures are not just in contempt of the education policy, but also a blatant disregard of the Constitution. 'The state of education in the province is dire and dysfunctional. Senior officials in the department are well aware of the crisis and yet have done nothing to improve the situation. 'Sadtu has declared the KZN DoE as having collapsed, and as a result, we have embarked on a work-to-rule campaign. Members will not attend meetings or workshops organised by the department. Principals will not attend meetings or workshops and will boycott making submissions until the department pays all the money owed to schools. They will focus exclusively on seven hours of classroom teaching, and no extra classes will be conducted,' Caluza added. Doctor Ngema, general secretary for the National Teachers Union (Natu), said the education system was in a crisis. 'We cannot remain silent while the constitutional right to basic education, enshrined in the Constitution, is systematically eroded. Owing to many years of budget cuts, we are now left with a chronic state of underfunding and infrastructural decay – leaving many schools with dilapidated classrooms, school infrastructure, a lack of basic amenities such as toilets, electricity, and safe classrooms. 'Despite extensive engagements with provincial departments of education and the DoE, Natu has exhausted all diplomatic avenues to address these critical issues. Consequently, we are compelled to initiate picket actions to demand urgent change. We call on all school principals to refrain from using personal funds to sustain school operations, as it is the responsibility of the department to provide all necessary resources for the June exams,' he added. Labby Ramrathan, a UKZN education expert, said unions needed to stop using pupils as bargaining chips. 'This threat of strike action is a concern for pupils. It is unwise, and irresponsible of unions to do this. If they claim that the KZN education system has collapsed, then they should deal with the education system, and not use the pupils as bargaining chips,' he added. Ramrathan said unions needed to find effective ways to deal with their grievances. 'They should take the DoE to court, instead of putting the children at a disadvantage. By embarking on protest action, they are creating an unstable environment. Teacher unions need to find new ways of dealing with challenges. They are destabilising the education system by using strike action and withdrawal of support as a weapon of threat. They must be able to deal with the DoE independently, without threats that affect the pupils,' he added. Vee Gani, chairperson of the KZN Parents Association, said the unions concerns were valid, and it was unfortunate that exams had to be postponed. He said he had been inundated with calls from concerned parents after they were notified that the June examinations had been postponed. 'Some schools have taken a decision to postpone the exams. It is a worry, but unions are fighting for norms and standards. Schools are unable to function without the proper finances. In essence, it's a ripple effect. If service providers or subsidies are not paid, how can schools sustain themselves? 'How are they going to function and deliver quality education under those circumstances. The budget for education has been cut, but teachers and principals are expected to do more with less. It's difficult to operate a school. Some schools have resources but others don't. I agree that the schooling system is collapsing, because schools are clearly not functioning properly,' he added. Gani said parents, especially those with children in grades 11 and 12, were concerned about their children's education. 'Pupils use their grade 11 and 12 results to apply for tertiary education. Pupils not having extra programmes will set them back. Nobody knows how long this stand-off will last, but we are hoping that the issues are resolved soon, so that teaching and learning can resume,' Gani said. THE POST
IOL News
06-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
KwaZulu-Natal's Education Department grapples with R250 million debt crisis
Sadtu provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza has raised the union's concern about the financial state of the KZN Department of Education. Image: Indepenent Newspapers Archives A financial report has laid bare the deepening financial crises faced by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, painting a picture of an entity drowning in debt. The department owes close to R250 million to the eThekwini Municipality for water delivered by water tankers, as detailed in the financial report released by the municipality last week. This comes as the department is already battling to service a debt owed by Section 21 schools to the municipality for services. It was not immediately clear over what period the debt has been accumulated, but the report covers the latest period from January to March and details all debts owed to the municipality, including by consumers, business, and government. The financial state of the department is a concern to political parties and the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu), which claims that the department has collapsed financially. KZN Education faced serious budget cuts over the past few years and has revealed that it is struggling to meet its obligations. It has emerged that it has not paid all the suppliers of the school nutrition programme and missed salary payments to Grade R teachers, who were expected to be paid late last week. The financial report stated, 'An amount of R250 million is owed by the Department of Education for the supply of water tankers.' The City's eThekwini Water Services and the Department of Education have established that the water was supplied without a valid Service Level Agreement (SLA) in place; but the issue of the accumulated debt has not been resolved. Discussions are ongoing between the water service and the department on how to resolve the debt issue. The report also indicated that the department's Section 21 schools are struggling to keep up with their accounts, which have fallen into arrears despite a payment arrangement being in place. 'After engagements with the Department of Education, in May 2024, a payment arrangement was concluded for an amount of R169.1m, which was the debt owed by 521 schools at the time. The arrangement was that the department would pay this amount in equal instalments of R11m over 13 months after the initial down payment of R17m was made. The Department of Education has paid as per the agreement, with the last instalment for March still to be received. 'It should be noted that although an arrangement was reached with the Department of Education in May last year, the debt for 521 schools has continued to escalate due to schools not paying their current charges, which have now escalated into arrears,' said the report. The DA spokesperson on Education, Sakhile Mngadi, expressed alarm at the deepening financial implosion within the province's department. He said a crisis is now threatening the well-being of millions of pupils and the constitutional viability of KZN's education system. 'This is no longer just a financial issue. It is a humanitarian and constitutional crisis, born out of poor leadership and a toxic culture of evasion and spin. Every day that passes without urgent intervention places more children at risk, undermines their right to education, and erodes the public's faith in government,' he said. Sadtu provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza said the department has collapsed. 'As we speak, some Grade R practitioners have not been paid. The department is struggling to pay service providers for school nutrition programmes, acting personnel have not received acting allowances, and some officials cannot attend important workshops. Some service providers that assisted with stationery at the beginning of the year have not been paid. "Schools have not received their full basic allocation for 2024. What else do we need to see to say that the department has collapsed?' she asked. Addressing the issue of unpaid school nutrition service providers, the department said it is addressing this and blamed a system glitch for the delay in payment. 'We acknowledge the concerns raised by our valued service providers and wish to assure them that the department is doing everything possible to resolve the technical glitches affecting payment processes. The problem has nothing to do with the financial difficulties of the department, as the NSNP is paid from the grant allocation. We remain committed to transparency, timely communication, and the uninterrupted provision of meals to our pupils across the province,' it said. Speaking on the issue of the debt, Education Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said: 'We are in agreement with them (municipality) as to how this is being addressed. We hold meetings with them and discuss these issues.' THE MERCURY
