The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) has called for urgent intervention to address growing safety concerns and staffing shortages in schools across KwaZulu-Natal.
The union says an increase in robberies at schools has exposed serious security gaps, while unemployed educators in the province are becoming increasingly frustrated over the lack of permanent teaching posts.
According to SADTU, some qualified teachers have been waiting more than eight years for permanent employment. Nearly 100 educators have been staging a sit-in outside the provincial education department’s head office in Pietermaritzburg since Wednesday, in a continuation of protests that began earlier this year.
SADTU provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza said schools are facing critical vacancy challenges, leaving existing staff overburdened.
“The teachers that we have are currently overworked, but due to austerity measures, the department maintains it does not have funding to appoint more educators,” she said.
Caluza warned that the continued reliance on short-term contracts undermines job security and called for increased funding to ensure permanent posts are filled timeously.
Meanwhile, the National Teachers' Union (NATU) has urged the provincial department to deploy trained security personnel to schools, citing rising incidents of crime.
The call follows a recent armed robbery at Zamokuhle Primary School in KwaMashu, north of Durban, where gunmen forced staff to hand over their belongings. Police are still searching for the suspects.
KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka condemned the attack, saying it had left both educators and learners traumatised.
NATU spokesperson Mathemba Mabija said such incidents should not occur in schools, adding that some perpetrators are believed to come from local communities.
He also criticised previous safety initiatives introduced during the tenure of former Premier Sihle Zikalala, saying that school safety officers deployed at the time were not adequately trained.
“Schools are struggling with basic security measures, including surveillance and patrols, which are not being properly implemented,” Mabija said.
He has called on communities to work with authorities by reporting criminal activity, as pressure mounts on government to address both safety and staffing challenges in the province’s education sector.