Sadtu: KZN DBE needs at least 2 weeks to prep for teachers to return

The union said they were considering discouraging teachers from returning to schools as planned on Thursday amid delays in the delivery of personal protective equipment (PPEs).

DURBAN - The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) said that the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department needed at least two weeks before teachers could go back to school.

The union said that they were considering discouraging teachers from returning to schools as planned on Thursday amid delays in the delivery of personal protective equipment (PPEs).

However, provincial authorities insist that schools will be ready to welcome them.

Teachers in KwaZulu-Natal are expected to report back to schools on Monday as announced by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga last week.

But provincial authorities were forced to postpone the return of teachers until Thursday after failing to adequately prepare schools.

Sadtu’s Bheki Shandu said that they predicted that schools would still not be ready for teachers later in the week.

"The department, in our view, needs nothing less than two weeks to properly plan and cater for schools in terms of the regulations as stipulated."

The union and provincial education department are expected to meet Tuesday.

Shandu said that they would demand clear plans from the department on how it planned to open schools for teachers by Thursday.