KZN teachers with appointment letters turned away by schools

THREE qualified teachers in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) remain unemployed despite receiving official appointment letters from the Department of Education.

The teachers allege they were rejected by school principals and governing bodies who claimed their positions were 'reserved' for others. The Department has now promised to investigate these concerning allegations.

The KZN Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal has promised to investigate.

The teachers alleged that they reported for duty, where they were deployed, but were rejected by school principals and the school governing body (SGB).  

Zilungile Zwane, 28, Snenhlanhla Nyawo, 32, and Thandolwazo Mthiyane, 30, received employment letters in September to teach at Ferndale Secondary School, Sarasvati Primary School, and KwaDukuza Primary School, respectively.

However, they were among more than 300 unemployed qualified teachers who camped at the department’s headquarters in Pietermaritzburg demanding employment. 

They alleged that the schools told them that their posts were reserved for other people.  

When informed about the matter, Education spokesperson Mlu Mtshali said he would refer the matter to the department for investigation. 

“But there is a situation where the department advertised posts, and schools were supposed to employ at a particular time, but when they delayed, the HOD (head of department) took over the process, as he has the right to do that.

“The SGB cannot stop a person from assuming duty, but I have not heard about those cases. Maybe I have to go to HR (Human Resources) to get the response to that,” said Mtshali.

He promised that the department would not intimidate the three for speaking to the media. 

“But we will try to get to the bottom of this,” he said.

Mtshali stated that he would check with HR to see if the appointment letters remained valid despite the women's rejection by the schools. 

Zwane, who, according to the letter, was employed on September 9 to teach history to Grades 8 to 12 at Ferndale school in Phoenix, north of Durban, said she, Nyawo, and Mthiyane joined the picketing after being rejected by the schools, and they believed they were still unemployed.

“At the school where I was deployed, the principal said he had his person earmarked for my post; then I went back to stay at home disappointed,” she said.

She said she approached the Pinetown district school inspector and the provincial head officer without getting help. 

“I even sent an email to the Minister of Education, who acknowledged receiving it and referred it to the provincial head officer, and there was no reply,” she said. 

Ferndale school principal, who did not give his or her name, said Zwane’s allegations against the school were inaccurate. 

“Our SEM, Rev DE Thusi (who she said is the circuit manager for Inanda Central), had a conversation with the educator in question, and she was not suitable for the post. 

“I thereafter followed the instructions given to me,” said the principal in a response sent via email.

Other schools have not responded. 

Nyawo said she was also rejected by the principal of Sarasvati Primary School, in Tongaat, north of Durban, where she was deployed to teach intermediate phase for Grade 6, for the same reason as Zwane.

Mthiyane was employed to teach maths to Grades 4 to 7 at KwaDukuza Primary School, in KwaDukuza, north coast, starting from September 2, but was rejected by the SGB. 

“The principal accepted me, and I spent three days at the school, but he said he would wait for the SGB to make the final decision about my employment.

“The SGB said I could not teach at the school because the principal had already recommended certain people who had worked at the school as volunteers. 

“They said if the department wants the school to employ teachers, those who volunteered should come first,” said Mthiyane. 

National Teachers’ Union (NATU) spokesperson Mathemba Mabija said that although it was illegal for schools to reserve posts for certain people, the department was also wrong for centralising the employment of first-time appointees, which he said was isolating SGBs.

He said the South African Schools’ Act says the SGBs should recommend teachers to fill posts. 

“Then the department turns not to follow that, but parachutes people to schools.

“SGBs cannot reject people who have been appointed by the department, but they may argue that they need to recommend through legitimate processes, including interviews,” said Mabija. 

He said if people who have appointment letters get rejected, it becomes the department’s responsibility to find them alternative schools to go to. 

He said teachers who have been rejected by schools cannot expect to be paid salaries based on being in possession of appointment letters, as they would not be on the payroll without signing employment documents provided to them by school principals.

“One of those documents is an assumption of duty form that would be attached to an appointment letter and be submitted to your local circuit office and the district for capturing. The SGB chairperson also has to sign those documents.

“So without those documents, they (rejected teachers) cannot be in a position to receive salaries because they are not attached or they have not assumed duties in any school,” he said. 

Mabija emphasised that schools have no right to reserve posts “because posts do not belong to schools but belong to the department”. 

He said some schools would reject newly appointed teachers brought to them by the department, as they prefer qualified teachers who have been employed by SGBs or have been volunteering for a long time. 

“Although volunteering is no longer there, some schools do it. You will find that those challenges are caused by that, but in essence, schools should not reserve posts for people because reservation might raise eyebrows that you reserve posts because maybe there are financial gains,” said Mabija.

He called on the department and the SGBs to resolve issues surrounding employment processes as they were both responsible for recruitment processes.   

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