Sadtu creates 'poisonous ethos'

2009-08-21 12:31

Cape Town - The DA has called on government to break the "stranglehold" it says the SA Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) has on public school education.

"Sadtu represents 67% of all teachers and its approach is to constantly undermine any effort to improve [their] performance," DA education spokesperson Junita Kloppers-Lourens said on Friday.

She said Sadtu staged marches and threatened bloodshed about wages and benefits, but "did nothing to demand of non-performing teachers that they arrive on time and leave on time and do their jobs".

The union's approach created a "poisonous ethos", one which favoured apathy, mediocrity and neglect.

"The department of education must be doing everything that it can to break this power," Kloppers-Lourens said.

Hold Sadtu responsible

It should hold Sadtu responsible for the financial consequences of damaging protests; demand a plan from the union to monitor teachers' attendance at school; and require it to take strong action against teachers who contravened their code of conduct.

"Sadtu should not be allowed to get away with standing up for the rights of teachers who do not do their jobs."

The DA believed the single-biggest priority in education was to "break the stranglehold of the SA Democratic Teachers' Union over the schooling system", she said.

- SAPA