The Superintendent General of the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE), Mthunywa Ngonzo, this week announced the release of the Closed Vacancy List Volume 2 of 2014.
The Superintendent General of the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE), Mthunywa Ngonzo, this week announced the release of the Closed Vacancy List Volume 2 of 2014.
The bulletin, which consists of 3370 educator posts, applies only to schools with additional educator vacancies as covered by the Education Labour Relations Council’s (ELRC) Collective Agreement 1 of 2014.
The list includes vacancies for 2055 Level 1 Educators, 987 Head of Departments (HOD) vacancies and 328 for Deputy Principal vacancies.
This announcement comes ahead of the 12 May deadline for schools to opt into a class action lawsuit, led by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), against the ECDoE.
The suit aims to ensure that temporary teachers in local schools are given permanent positions, as well as provide reimbursement for schools which, without government funds, have been forced to pay teachers from their own budgets.
In a statement, the department said it aimed to prioritise teaching and learning at schools and that its leadership is “serious about helping to unlock all the complications encountered by schools in delivering curricula to learners”.
The vacant posts listed for the Grahamstown district include: 23 Level 1 posts, 12 Level 2 posts, 9 Level 3 posts, making a total of 44 posts.
This development follows the signing, in January 2014, of the Collective Agreement No. 1 of 2014. The purpose of the agreement was the “permanent appointment of temporary educators in vacant substantive posts and transfer of serving educators in terms of operational requirements,” said the department.
The Province had become synonymous with labour unrest, particularly relating to the issues of temporary teachers and the transfer of additional educators.
This has had an adverse effect on teaching and learning in the province.
The agreement sought to improve the education landscape in the Eastern Cape, with a specific focus on improving the relations between the workforce and the department.
This would improve the quality of teaching and learning in public schools, said the ECDoE.
The agreement forms the basis for future years, offering a permanent solution to the challenges that have plagued the education system in the Eastern Cape for many years.
The department said it will also ensure that the fundamental right of children to education, enshrined in the South African Constitution, is upheld.
The role of the ELRC is to monitor the implementation of the agreement, and enforce it when necessary.
