Durban - SCHOOL principals have said that teachers are likely to struggle with overcrowded classrooms and an increased workload due to the Education Department’s attempt to use incorrect information to reduce the number of teachers.
The department recently issued Post Provisioning Norms (PPN) certificates to schools, which are used to determine the ratio of pupils per teacher in the classroom.
The PPN certificates for 2021 have raised concerns among school principals, who said the figures used by the department to determine the ratio for next year were fictitious and would result in schools losing teachers.
If the PPN shows that the ratio of teachers to pupils is higher on the side of teachers, the surplus teachers would be displaced from that school and reassigned to another school.
The department had called on school principals with excess teachers, according to the new PPN, to identify those they were willing to let go.
But the principals have since laid a complaint with teachers’ unions, who have instructed them not to co-operate in identifying those teachers.
In a letter to their members, SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza warned principals about the PPN released by the department.
“Please note that it has come to our attention that many PPN certificates released by the department are incorrect, as they have wrong pupil numbers.”
Sadtu’s letter said the union had engaged with the department to withdraw the PPN certificates and correct them.
Caluza said the situation could be catastrophic.
“You have to remember that the teachers might have been reduced, but the subjects have not been reduced. Schools could have a situation where teachers are overburdened or teachers are teaching subjects they are not qualified for.”
Sadtu held a workshop on the issue of PPN yesterday.
“The issue of PPN is also a controversial one in schools among teachers, as sometimes it is abused to settle personal scores by declaring teachers surplus as a means of targeting them, we have dealt with such cases before.
“We held a workshop to ensure that members know how this must be implemented after the department had corrected the PPN certificates,” she said.
National Teachers Union (Natu) president Allen Thompson said they had written to the department informing them of the labour union’s opposition to the new PPN certificates.
“It could be that the department is trying to cut costs with this. We have informed the department that, as we are still faced with this pandemic, they should be focusing on creating more posts, not taking them away. The rules of social distancing have not changed. We need more teachers, not fewer,” he said.
A school principal, who asked not to be named, said the situation was traumatic for teachers and would be devastating for pupils’ education.
“The figures being used by the department are either old or fictitious. In my case, the new PPN certificate says I have 500 pupils, but my school has close to 800.
“The process is traumatic for the teachers and often causes stress and anxiety, as they could be relocated to any part of the province, which puts a lot of stress on them and their families.
“It will also negatively affect the pupils because if we reduce the number of teachers we have, based on these PPN certificates that have incorrect numbers, it will mean pupils will now have to be in much bigger classes,” he said.
Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said they were aware of the concerns that had been raised and were engaging with teacher unions to find an amicable solution.
The Mercury