Teacher shortages bring one of EL's oldest school to a grinding halt

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

Teaching and learning has been put on hold at one of East London's oldest schools, St John's Road Primary School.

Parents, the school governing body, teachers and members of the community met with officials of the Eastern Cape Department of Education today to express their frustration about the shortage of teachers at the school.

Governing body chairperson Charleen Devereaux says St Johns Road Primary is short of eleven teachers.

She says the foundation and senior phases are hardest hit by the shortage.

"What worries me the most is the foundation phase. We have 5 foundation phase classes which are currently not receiving any education and then we also have a shortage for seniors. We had teachers employed by the SGB but at a certain stage we could not afford them anymore. We had to let them go" she said

Meanwhile, the Bhisho Education Department's cluster director, Khaya Ngaso, told the parents and teachers that they are handling the matter and will meet with heads of the department and return to them with answers on Friday.

He also indicated that the department is in communication with the provincial treasury to release some 400 million rand that is being withheld.

Ngaso says the Bhisho Education Department has also managed to move 2-thousand-900 teachers who are in excess, to areas where they are needed.