Issued by the Ministry of Education
National Council of Provinces, 8 June 2000
Chairperson
Honourable members
One of the five programmes of Tirisano aims to "enhance the effectiveness of schools and to promote educator professionalism." The legislation which I am introducing today will do both of these, by giving effect to the need for a tangible expression of educator professionalism, and in the certain belief that schools with professional staff are more effective schools.
There are various means to promote educator professionalism. These include developmental approaches, regulatory frameworks, and promotional work.
In respect of developmental approaches, these include the offering of in-service teacher education programmes, which will be done in terms of the framework which is currently being prepared. We will also look to the Education Sector Training Authority as a mechanism to expand and improve training in the sector.
Regulatory frameworks include the Norms and Standards for Educators which were published earlier this year. These define the roles and competencies of an educator, and provide a useful benchmark to ensure our programmes and teachers are of good quality. We will also be introducing legislation later this year which will amend the disciplinary procedures in education, so that cases of misconduct can be speedily dealt with at an appropriate level.
These are the formal aspects of professional development - training for further qualifications, and ensuring disciplined behaviour by educators. But the third leg - the promotional leg - is just as important. The purpose of this leg is to enable and assist the public to construct a new image of teachers. The status of teachers appears to have declined over the past two decades, and the very notions of educator professionalism have become contested and discredited. This is a world-wide problem, and as long ago as 1966 UNESCO and the International Labour Organisation (the ILO) tabled a Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers. In the foreword to the 1998 World Education Report the former Director General of UNESCO stated that the 1966 report is especially relevant today, and asserts that "teachers in particular need our encouragement and support".
In our country, the image of teachers has been battered by many factors. This began with the de-professionalisation of teachers (especially black teachers) under apartheid, who were expected to be uncritical, low paid functionaries. A professional was defined by the National Party government as non-political and subservient, as I experienced myself as a school teacher under this regime, and many teachers bought into this definition to secure their own places in the system. Others rightly rejected this understanding, but without creating a viable liberatory model of professionalism.
This situation was reflected in the divisions that arose out of the repression of teachers during the 1980s, and the resulting resistance, where an artificial distinction was raised between so-called professionals and workers. A new professionalism, which embodied the material and the political, as well as the pedagogical, emerged in South Africa and elsewhere, as teachers established unions simultaneously to pursue professional and labour related issues. As the current Minister of Labour put it, in his position as President of SADTU: "The conditions under which teachers teach are the same as those under which learners learn. We cannot separate the learning process from the conditions which surround it."
More recently, the rationalisation and re-deployment process has also affected morale, and many teachers have felt unwanted and surplus to requirements. This was a necessary though painful process, and I am glad to be able to announce that we are in a position to terminate this special equity-driven initiative at the end of this month.
It is now time to right all these wrongs, and to rebuild the professionalism of our teachers. We all recognise the need for a cadre of well-trained, reliable and professional educators, who are trusted by the public they serve.
One way of doing so is by holding up as role models those teachers who meet this definition, and praising and rewarding them. This is being done through the National Teacher Awards which I launched two weeks ago in Johannesburg.
The other means of enhancing the status of teachers is through the establishment of a credible and accountable professional council, which will provide a guarantee of quality in respect of the services obtained from registered educators. This is the aim of the legislation now before you.
We put to this House a Bill which will provide for the re-vitalisation of the professional council for educators. This Council was originally established by a collective agreement between trade unions and the Department of Education. The Council thereafter had a temporary legislative home as a Chapter of the Employment of Educators Act. Neither of these was a satisfactory location for the Council, since they both pertained to an employer-employee relationship. This relationship has undermined the collegial nature of the Council, and discussions and decisions of the Council have often been partisan and adversarial.
This Council is now set to make a fresh start under the new legislation. The primary functions have not changed in this newly constituted Council, and the Council will remain responsible for registering qualified educators, for promoting the development of the profession, and for ensuring educators abide by a Code of Professional Ethics. The scope of the Council has been extended by the inclusion of the formal Early Childhood Development sector, Adult educators, and teachers in independent schools. I must commend these sectors for the willingness they have shown to be a part of this Council, which bodes well for the future of the profession.
But there is a new dynamic which should ensure that the functions of the Council are pursued with greater vigour, greater unity of purpose, and with the interests of education held uppermost. This new dynamic will come about as a result of a number of innovations in the Bill, including the fact that the Council will in future be made up of a much wider variety of participants, reflecting the extended scope of the Council. These will include the organised teaching profession (as a majority in Council), as well as representatives nominated by school governing body associations, the ECD, ABET, further and higher education sectors, and also the independent schools. This will ensure that the Council does not follow the pattern of too many other professional Councils, which have become self-serving, protectionist instruments - defending the profession against the interests of the public.
By contrast, this Council will serve the public by calling to account educators who do not provide a quality education service. Such service is defined by the Code of Professional Ethics, which defines how an educator should relate to his or her learners, colleagues, parents and the broader community. Any contraventions of the Code will be investigated and if necessary pursued by the Council.
This public accountability will be enhanced by two other factors. Firstly, the fact that all members of the Council will be appointed by the Minister, and will therefore owe their allegiance to the Council and the profession, and not to any constituency who may have made the nomination for appointment. Secondly, the fact that the chairperson of the Council will be appointed by the Minister, on the recommendation of the Council. This Chairperson will be empowered to act with confidence in leading the Council, with the full authority conferred in the national interest. Where firm decisions need to be taken, these will not be influenced by the interests of one or other constituency,
These are the formal elements of the Bill, which alone should provide for the re-vitalisation of this Council. But there is more. I have attempted to inject into this Council a dose of commitment - a professional commitment to serving the interests of the profession, and of education, on a voluntary basis. I have reached an understanding with the CEO of the Council that it will not, under ordinary circumstances, convene a sitting of the Council during school, hours. Meetings will be held after hours, at weekends and during school holidays, to ensure this Council will not be accused of destabilising schools. The house should also note that apart from the Chairperson, who would have an onerous load, no members of the Council will be paid for their participation in the Council. Service to the Council will be voluntary, and based not on personal enrichment, but on the will and ability of the thirty persons who will be appointed to this Council. These aspects are most important, since members of the Council should be role models in respect of an ethos of voluntary involvement and commitment which is needed in education.
Now is also the time for ordinary people to make their contribution to education. We cannot claim that all citizens of this country have fully embraced the spirit of voluntary work upon which this country will be made great.
The principle embodied in this legislation is that of public scrutiny of the teaching profession. Through this Council, the public will recognise and appreciate the contribution of teachers to building this nation. But they will also have an opportunity to weed out those who are not up to scratch, and who do not act in accordance with the values and ethics of our new democracy. The Bill also asserts the view that we all, as citizens, and whatever our own levels of education, know what it is that we want from our public servants - the educators. It is also founded on the assumption that ordinary people, representatives of these citizens, will make themselves available to serve and to ensure we receive the quality we expect. This legislation is therefore no abstract matter - it gives us the means to influence what happens to our children every day at school.
We have promised a better life for all. We are delivering on that promise. But we never said we could do it alone. You must play your part.
I therefore commend this measure to the Council.
I thank you.