ALLOCATION of finances, getting more staff and the upgrading of security at school premises are some of the reasons why teachers took to the streets on Friday, 13 October.
The South African Teachers Democratic Union (Sadtu) KZN provincial members embarked on a march on Friday, 13 October.
Dressed in their union regalia, they marched through the Durban CBD, chanting revolutionary songs. A teacher who was part of the march said: "We want our salaries increased. Today we got paid but already our money is finished. Everything is expensive, prices for everything are high but our salaries remain the same."
Another teacher said grade R teachers should be paid as well.
"The department doesn't care about grade R teachers. We want the department to know that we want that to change," she said.
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Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) provincial secretary, Edwin Mkhize, also joined the march and said: "You must understand that with this march it is a class war. We are workers in the education sector. Today we got paid but we don't have money.
"Salaries haven't increased but everything including food has increased. This high cost of living has affected schools. Many families can't afford private schools. They now take their children to public schools which puts more work for public school teachers," he said.
Sadtu provincial secretary, Nomarashiya Caluza, said: "Provincial government must take responsibility for all the mess that is happening in our schools. Teachers are attacked at gunpoint on school premises. Schools are no longer safe for teachers and pupils. In 2017 we were here to present a memorandum. We are back and we say things have become worse."
She said the Department of Education has the responsibility to afford all pupils in schools quality education and to progressively achieve equity in resource distribution by being sensitive and responsive to existing inequalities.
"It is scandalous that we still have schools that have not been paid their financial allocations, better known as norms and standards. The department in this province is running schools as if they are operating a tuck shop, they decide willy nilly on how much must be paid and when to schools," she said.
She said this year a new method was introduced wherein schools were paid half their allocation and no explanation or arrangements were communicated to schools.
"Some schools don't have teachers and that has been for the longest time," she said. She said they give the department 14 days to respond to their grievances.
The KZN MEC for Education Mbali Frazer accepted the memorandum and said: "We are noting the concerns. Allow us some time to come back to you."
