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Let me start by giving credit to two sets of people. First are the teachers who were recognised recently at the National Teacher Awards. Since nomination by an SGB, these teachers have been through a process of local, regional and provincial runoffs, and are deservedly recognised. They give real hope for the future of education, although it must be said that what we need is not a set of postage stamps, but a full postal service! While these teachers are giving their utmost to teaching, beyond the call of duty, the actions of others give a very different impression, and it is clear that the school you go to, and the teachers who teach you, make a huge difference in where you land up. Lucky children who have these award-winning teachers!

The other people who deserve credit are in the Department of Basic Education. Not only did they get the event onto the national stage through television, they gave credit to the professor who led the introduction of the awards – Minister Kader Asmal. I trust the naming of the award has brought him great pleasure, and that the recipients are indeed worthy of his lofty principles, which included a love for humanity, an enduring tolerance (although not limitless), and a determination to ensure punctuality. Congratulations, and I am sure a few more aspirant teachers were recruited that night as they saw due recognition being given to the profession.

Congratulations must also go out on the policy front as well, where Minister Motshekga has declared that teachers will (once again) be posted to schools where they are needed, and that “if they are not available to move, they are not available to work”. This is a bold step, and will meet with resistance from some school governing bodies, who want to reserve their right to select teachers, and teacher unions, whose members like being able to decide where they work, and if need be to be declared in excess, and hang around at a school where you are not needed while still getting paid. I therefore wish the Minister well in her negotiations with both groups; if it happens it will be perhaps the single biggest step towards a redistributive approach in education – a redistribution of quality rather than just resources.

And now to a rather different challenge – that of school infrastructure. A more enduring redistribution challenge than a simple agreement with teachers on deployment issues. Violent school boycotts and the trashing of schools across the country show that communities have grown impatient with inadequate facilities. The court challenge by Equal Education to compel the Minister to gazette the Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure is a brave move, and the first “constitutional” challenge in education, enforcing the provisions of the Bill of Rights on basic education. At the same time it can be no more than a publicity stunt; simply calling something obligatory does not make it happen. That is why the Norms and Standards (as presently drafted) have never been brought into force – they would impose an intolerable burden on the state to meet them. The only answer is therefore to revisit those ambitious Norms, and accept something a bit less than ideal, which should be universally applied and accepted. In this regard I am excited by the news that Gauteng is exploring prefabricated building technologies – good enough for malls and offices, but somehow rejected by communities as “not permanent and inferior”. We must get around these prejudices, and create new models of schools. School buildings that are enough to provide a basic education, in which committed teaching staff turn it into a good education! As Ghandi said – there is not enough for anyone’s greed, but there is enough for everyone’s need.

And finally, the ironies of education. Following an announcement that the DA was to march on the Eastern Cape SADTU offices on March 21st, accusing SADTU of abusing the rights of children through “strikes and union meetings”. SADTU responded by accusing the DA of “using education to score political points” – a bit rich from a union that fought and beat apartheid! Meantime over 200 teachers in the province sit at District offices – “chased away” by their colleagues or communities, whatever that may mean. And we have the MEC complaining that his time and resources are spent fighting endless court battles with teachers about their deployment to schools.

The Chief Inspector

March 2012

Duncan Hindle is "The School Inspector". He is a well known educationist, and has served as a union leader, as well as a senior official in the Department of Education. He also chaired the SGB of a prominent school in Pretoria. His background places him in a good position to adjudicate impartially and objectively on all comments, and to fairly represent the performance of a school, based on public ratings.