Sadtu commends matric results
2013-01-03 13:33
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2013-01-03 09:35
The national pass rate had increased to 73.9 percent. That's a 3.7 percent improvement from 2011.WATCH
Johannesburg - The SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu)
on Wednesday commended teachers for their contribution towards the improved
matric pass rate, while slamming the Department of Basic Education director
general Bobby Soobrayan.
"We again commend our teachers for their hard work
against the odds with no leadership from director general Bobby
Soobrayan," the union said in a statement.
"His continued undermining of collective bargaining
will demoralise teachers and is a recipe for labour unrest."
The union said teachers had worked to improve marks
despite having "very little training" from the department.
Sadtu said there should also be more training and
development for school governing bodies and local administrators to improve
education.
"We call on the employer to invest in an intensive
school leadership training programme targeting school management teams and
principals in particular," Sadtu said.
The National Professional Teachers' Organisation of SA
(Naptosa) also commended teachers for the improved pass rates and also called
on more training.
"Teachers need to be further empowered through
effective professional development strategies designed to meet their individual
needs," said Naptosa president Basil Manuel.
Challenges
Sadtu said there was also a lack of facilities, and
improvements to maths and sciences had been achieved despite a shortage of
laboratories.
Sadtu added that students with an African home language
had extra challenges.
The union criticised the Western Cape for being the only
province to see a drop in its matric pass rate, to 82.8% from 82.9%.
"While this looks minimal we must emphasise that at
stake is the lives of our children and under no circumstances must a drop of
any kind be acceptable," Sadtu said.
The union commended the other eight provinces for
improving their pass rates.
Naptosa said the improved rate was also partly due to
"winter and spring" schools held outside the normal academic year.
"These practices should not become the norm.
Teachers must be responsible for quality teaching and learning in their class
rooms throughout the year," Manuel said.
- SAPA
