Staff Reporter
The Free State Department of Education has injected nearly R140-million towards the remuneration of teachers employed by School Governing Bodies (SGBs) who were on the verge of losing their jobs as some schools could no longer afford to employ them due to low revenue flows.
The majority of teachers in the country are employed by the government but SGBs are allowed to hire additional or specialist teachers to fill key posts.
These teachers are paid by the SGBs, which derive their revenue from the school fees paid by the learners.
But as a result of the prolonged lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some parents have lost their jobs and can no longer afford to pay school fees for their children.
“Some parents have been laid off and this has had an effect on their ability to pay school fees,” provincial education department spokesperson Howard Ndaba told The Free Stater.
“Schools have also been closed for a long time due to the national lockdown and some parents have not found the need to pay the fees while others have genuinely lost their jobs,” he added.
Ndaba said there are three main types of schools in the country, namely fee-paying public schools, no-fee-paying public schools and independent schools.
“Independent schools were affected the most because they rely very little on government support,” he said.
“Some parents with children in those schools were also laid off and the provincial education department had to step in and save jobs.”
Ndaba said at least 184 jobs for teachers in Quintile 4 have been rescued by the provincial government while 345 in Quintile 5 have also kept their jobs.
Quintiles 4 and 5 are mainly located in affluent communities and receive fees from parents with minimal state funding.
Ndaba said about 632 teaching posts at independent schools are now being funded by the provincial education department as a way of saving the situation.
The salaries of at least 12 teachers for learners with special needs will also be paid by the government in the interim.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely because we want teaching and learning to continue in all schools,” said Ndaba.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted schooling for some time now, so we should do everything possible to ensure minimum disruptions.”