The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) in the Eastern Cape province held a Provincial General Council (PGC) to welcome the re-elected MEC for Education, Fundile Gade. It also used the time to reflect on the goals of the organisation and the country’s political state amongst others.
The PGC was hosted under the theme “Claiming our right to have our human dignity and safety protected and respected in pursuit of a decolonised quality public education,” which emphasized that in order for the teachers’ organization to achieve their set goals, they need to work together.
Welcoming the reinstated MEC for Education in the province, they thanked and acknowledged his efforts to deliver quality education. The organization said that the Eastern Cape Department of Education has addressed the infrastructure backlog and changed the negative narrative of the province being the worst performer under the leadership of Gade.
Eastern Cape SADTU Secretary, Malibongwe Ntame, said they expect the department to implement changes to the current curriculum from this term already.
“Our main goal as SADTU Eastern Cape is to ensure that the 7th administration provides real access to education to all learners. It must redress imbalances in education, address equity questions & deal with quality education. The department must work with all stakeholders in education and listen to their concerns like infrastructure provisioning, address teacher shortages in schools, deal with safety in schools, provide furniture and restructure & redesign the curriculum,” Ntame said.
The PGC also addressed the political state in the province and said that the recent election has put the country in a new political path.