Impending teachers’ purge will negatively affect education quality - Education Crisis Committee

CAPE TOWN - The Education Crisis Committee (ECC) said the impending educators’ purge will negatively affect the quality of education.

The committee made the statement as efforts to save the jobs of 2,400 Western Cape teachers.

ALSO READ: Teacher job cuts in WC will increase unemployment, hit quality of education, say civil society groups

The ECC, which includes Equal Education and the South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU), met at Bergville Primary School in Bishop Lavis on Saturday.

In August, Education MEC David Maynier revealed that his department will have to cut down on its teachers' bill due to the National Treasury’s decision to reduce the department’s budget.

The committee's Abeedah Adams said the reduction of teachers would not only contribute to already high levels of unemployment but would also affect teaching and learning in the classroom.

"If the black child is always going to be disadvantaged from good quality education, it also means fewer black children will qualify for university education, especially if they come from poor working-class schools because they sit with big class sizes. Teachers are already overburdened. I mean, I have heard horror stories sometimes of teachers saying they have 60 learners in the class."