KING Cetshwayo Education District Director David Chonco has heaped praise on Grade R educators for developing themselves academically with the aim of uplifting the quality of education.
Delivering a keynote address at the first district graduation ceremony for Grade R educators at the Empangeni Civic Centre, Chonco said despite numerous challenges faced by the early childhood development (ECD) unit, the educators still forged ahead with initiatives to upgrade themselves without getting any support from the education department. This was encouraging and bode well for a bright future.
‘Education is about ensuring that there is teaching and learning, curriculum delivery and learner attainment. We have noticed that our learners are not reading. Can you please assist us in making it a norm that we produce a reading nation? We need all stakeholders in education to turn it around,’ he said.
The district director was responding to criticism from labour union, the National Teachers Union (NATU), that Grade R educators are not recognised in the same way as Grade 12 teachers.
‘The district should be doing more to recognise our ECD practioners,’ said NATU regional chairperson Sandra Barnes.
‘Every year the district honours Grade 12 educators for producing excellent results in matric, yet nothing is being done to recognise our Grade R educators.’
The ceremony was also graced by the presence of Lindiwe Gumede from Vondlo Primary School, who won the National Teaching Award early this year. She painted a gloomy picture of the road travelled by ECD educators.
‘Looking back from where we come from, we have every reason to celebrate this day. We come from the days when we were getting food parcels or R700 as payment for our hard work in nurturing these young kids to becoming future leaders.
‘We managed to further our studies using loan sharks. To tell the truth, we were earning grants. Even the R6 000 we now get is a drop in the ocean. We receive no pension, no bonuses and we work on contracts,’ she said.
