WC Education Crisis Movement pushing WCED to reconsider teacher job cuts

CAPE TOWN - The Western Cape Education Crisis Movement is continuing the call on the Education Department to reconsider its decision to let thousands of teachers go.  

More than 2,400 teachers in the Western Cape are set to lose their jobs on Tuesday.  

ALSO READ: SAC's bid to delay Western Cape education dept cutting thousands of teaching posts fails

In August, the provincial Education Department announced it was left with no choice but to cut the posts due to a R3 billion budget cut from the national government.  

The Western Cape Education Crisis Movement was formed by teachers, unions, civil organisations and community members.  

It was established soon after the Western Cape Education Department announced the impending thousands of teacher job cuts to challenge the decision.  

It has convened several meetings to find a way forward to save teacher jobs, including staging pickets in front of the provincial education offices.  

Abeedah Adams, the Education Crisis Movement’s organiser, was speaking at one of the demonstrations outside the department.  

"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 poorer working-class schools, because they sit with big class sizes. Teachers are already overburdened. I have heard horror stories sometimes of teachers saying they have sixty learners in the class."

The movement has vowed to continue the efforts to stop the teacher job cuts.