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DA to write to Minister of Basic Education on teacher training during class time
Training during class time deprives pupils of teachers thus disrupting their education
Minister had previously stated in Parliament that such training would not be allowed to disrupt class time





The Democratic Alliance (DA) will be writing to the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, to ask what steps will be taken to prevent teacher training disrupting teaching time. Education officials in the Eastern Cape are continuing to hold teacher training sessions during class time. This means that schools are deprived of teachers and worse, pupils are deprived of their right of access to a basic education as stipulated in section 29 of the constitution.

On visiting the Eastern Cape yesterday I discovered that officials in East London called 7 training workshops over the past two weeks, 5 of them starting at 10h00 or earlier.

This despite President Jacob Zuma in his first state of the nation address having under-pinned a set of non-negotiables, stating that, "teachers should be, in class, on time, all the time, teaching seven hours a day." It also further blatantly contradicts Minister Motshekga comments in Parliament last year that, "in service training will however, not under any circumstance be allowed to disrupt teaching and learning."

The Eastern Cape's defiance of the Minister is not unique. During the Education Budget debate in parliament on March 23 I produced documentary evidence of 172 workshops planned for class time by the Umlazi school district in KZN.

On June 1 I issued a statement supplying proof of 21 training session called, during class time by the Nkangala region in Mpumalanga.

Section 8 of the national Education Policy Act of 1996 stipulates that "The Minister shall direct the standards of education provision, delivery and performance throughout the Republic".

It is clear that Minister Motshekga is responsible for taking this situation in hand. She needs to act vigorously and act now. If she does not, it will cast doubt on her ambitious plans to fix our education system. Plans are all very well, but without the will to push them through, all her efforts will be a waste of everybody's time. Hopefully the Minister will be able to answer these questions in her response to my letter and when I raise the issue in Parliament.