South Africa to recruit Zimbabwean science and maths teachers
By Lance Guma
10 January 2007
South Africa’s education ministry is considering plans to recruit science and maths teachers from Zimbabwe in an attempt to address serious shortages in their schools. An education official in the Gauteng province, Angie Motshekga, told South African journalists that Education Minister Naledi Pandor confirmed Zimbabwean teachers had already approached their government over the vacancies. Raymond Majongwe the Secretary General of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) told Newsreel that their organisation’s chapter in South Africa has been active in trying to get employment for their members in that country.
Although no teachers have been recruited yet, South African officials have said they recognise Zimbabwean teaching qualifications and recruiting them was now a real possibility. A new curriculum has been introduced for Grade 10 pupils, which requires them to do maths or maths literacy as a subject. The Gauteng province says it does not have many trained science and maths teachers, which is why they are predicting a crisis. Teaching unions in South Africa have said they will support the recruitment only if it is not done at the expense of Zimbabwe’s education sector.
Majongwe however told Newsreel that even if one wanted to be patriotic, there were certain economic fundamentals that could not be ignored, and that is ‘people will always move to where the grass is greener.’ Commenting on a recent offer by the Public Service Commission to offer salaries below the poverty datum line, he said the PTUZ is baffled as to how the government intended to retain skilled professionals with such poor remuneration. Majongwe launched a broadside at reserve bank governor Gideon Gono for arguing against salary increases for civil servants saying they fuelled inflation. He said it is amazing the same person has spent US$365 000 of foreign currency on a high powered Mercedes Brabus E-class V12- bi-turbo vehicle.
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