Matric 'gag' comes under fire

2006-10-09 19:28

Durban - A ban on KwaZulu-Natal invigilators speaking to the media about matric-exam problems received the thumbs down from trade unions and human-rights bodies on Monday.

The KwaZulu-Natal education department told invigilators at a briefing that they could not talk to the media.

Education spokesperson Christi Naude confirmed on Monday that the department would seek "to try and control the information going out, so it is accurate".

South African Democratic Teachers Union secretary-general for KZN Sipho "KK" Nkosi, said: "I think the department is out of order."

He said that often teachers and principals' efforts to address issues directly with the department failed, leaving them "frustrated".

Matters of public interest

The SA Human Rights Commission's Karthy Govender said: "The actual regulation may violate the individual's right to freedom of expression."

He pointed out that if a teacher or principal faced disciplinary action, that person could well claim "his constitutional right as it is enshrined in the bill of rights".

He said that "public interest" and the long-term interest of pupils at school were the major issues.

But, he also said that "misleading information" would not necessarily be protected by the right to free speech.

Na'eem Jeenah, the head of the Freedom of Expression Institute's (FXI) anti-censorship programme, said: "This kind of gagging is not helpful. It makes me suspicious that the department might want to hide problems."

He said the FXI would encourage invigilators to speak out about problems.

The KwaZulu-Natal chairperson of the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie, Joffie Kruger, said invigilators' attempts to speak to the media were part of "a general unhappiness".

"It's part of their frustration."

On Monday, Naude said: "It's nothing new. It's been like this for donkey's years."

Could jeopardise investigations

She said invigilators speaking to the media posed a security risk.

If there were problems, the early release of information could jeopardise the department's investigations into problems.

"It's a lie that they (invigilators) did not know (that they were not allowed to speak to the media)," she said.

She said it would also be problematic if employees were to "become the go-between" between the department and the media.

- SAPA