Opposition parties in the Western Cape have expressed frustration over the provincial education department's plan to cut more than 2,400 teacher posts, describing it as an attack on education.
Listen to this article 5 min Listen to this article 5 min Following the Western Cape Department of Education's (WCED) announcement last month that it plans to reduce the number of educator posts by more than 2,400 by 2025 due to a budget crisis, members of the Western Cape provincial legislature are calling for measures to be taken to protect teachers' jobs.
Education MEC David Maynier announced that the department faces a R3.8-billion budget shortfall, partly because it received only 64% of the nationally negotiated wage agreement from the national government.
This announcement resulted in the Good party calling for an urgent debate on the decision to cut teaching posts.
In the debate on Thursday, 12 September 2024, the opposition in the provincial legislature said the job cuts were an attack on education.
"Our children deserve better. This is not just about budgets; it is an attack on education in the Western Cape, especially for those in disadvantaged communities," said the leader of the ANC in the legislature, Khalid Sayed.
"The impact will be devastating for under-resourced schools where students need more attention, not less. Class sizes will balloon, individual support will diminish and the strain on educators will...
