Unemployed teachers camp outside KZN education department
Department ignores them
Unemployed teachers protest outside the KZN Department of Education office on Burger Street, Pietermaritzburg. Photo: Joseph Bracken
Teachers from across KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) have been camping outside the provincial education department’s offices in Pietermaritzburg since last Monday. They are protesting to demand jobs.
The protest was organised by the KZN Unemployed Educators Movement (KZN UEM). The group began planning the protest through Facebook at the end of last year, said Nkosingiphile Xulu, the movement’s chairperson.
Since last week, the number of protestors has grown from 36 people to 120, said Xulu. The group also has a memorandum that they hope to hand over to the department.
Their demands include permanent jobs for unemployed teachers, for their NSFAS debt to be wiped, and for more transparency in the job application process.
The current application process is difficult. The teachers say their details are often deleted on the government’s online link. They also complained of the lack of clarity on any updates about employment prospects, according to Vamisile Bhengu, another KZN UEM member.
Bhengu, who has been unemployed since getting her degree in foundational education seven years ago, said it is very difficult to find a job. If you go onto the government database and click on the job vacancies section, it’s almost always empty.
Gcinekile Khubisa, another qualified teacher who has been unemployed for seven years, said that the provincial department provides little to no assistance. “When we go to schools with a CV, they tell us to go to the district department. The district tells us to go to the head office. And the head office tells us to go to the database.”
The group also wants the department to publish job adverts more frequently, said Xulu.
Despite camping outside their offices for almost a week, no department officials have engaged with the protestors or come out to accept their memorandum, said Xulu. The group plans to camp outside the building until their demands are met, she said.
Currently, the group takes shifts, with some members going home for supplies and others going around the town in search of food, said Xulu.
Questions were sent to the department’s head of communications, Muzi Mahlambi. None of the questions were answered by the time of publication.
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Letters
Dear Editor
If the KZN Education department identified and removed (and prosecuted and recovered monies fraudulently paid to) the thousands of ghost teachers still on their rolls receiving salaries and pensions every month, there would be more than enough free places (and money) to employ those 700 teachers.
It just takes a little bit of political effort and will.
In KZN, the DA, IFP and ANC have formed a government of provincial unity (GPU) - a coalition of three parties - since 2024.
Lots of song and dance, and celebratory postings and parties. Lots of backslapping and self-promoting videos and podcasts. But very little else.
Ghost teachers (and ghost provincial employees) are a major problem costing the province billions annually.
But where is the DA/ANC/IFP provincial government in this? Why have they not fixed this terrible fraud and draining of billions of Rands?
Is it too difficult? Is it not their problem? What is the point of a DA/ANC/IFP provincial government in KZN if they can’t even start to fix this one major basic problem??
Not good enough. Elections are coming. Be careful who you vote for.
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