THE Congress of South African Students is adamant that final matric examinations should be postponed.
Last week the organisation gave the Department of Basic Education until yesterday to meet their demands.
Cosas demands that final matric and preliminary exams be postponed by a week, two hours be added to the schooling day, Saturdays be a normal school day and the September holidays be cancelled.
"KwaZulu-Natal has said teachers would put in extra two hours on each school day and teach from 8am to 1pm on Saturdays," Cosas deputy secretary general Sbonelo Shezi said yesterday.
"We are meeting with the department and we therefore urge our members to remain in school. We still say that we cannot be part of the preliminary exams. We will only write internal tests.
"The department has told us that the postponement of final exams is a decision that has to be taken with other stakeholders like Umalusi, universities and government."
Shezi said Cosas members were still to decide what to do if exams were not postponed.
"We want a culture of learning and teaching but can never agree to writing to fail."
Cosas also wants the department to include Grade 10s and 11s in its recovery plan.
"The department's recovery plan does not include other grades. We see this as a danger that is going to affect not just Grade 12 students, but all students who have become victims of the teachers' strike," Shezi said.
- But teacher unions say they stand firm in their decision not to teach if the department is not prepared to pay them extra.
There is no agreement between the department and the unions on how teachers will be remunerated for working on Saturdays and during the September school holidays that begin tomorrow.
National Teachers Union deputy president Allen Thompson said teachers were willing to recover the time lost during the strike.
"The department is delaying learning and teachers should not be blamed for it," he said.
"The teachers are willing to be part of the recovery plan but they are not going to work without being paid for it."
Cosas has been boycotting classes since last week.
- In the Eastern Cape 18 pupils were arrested in Qumbu after staging protests against writing prelims.
They disrupted examinations at various schools on Monday, Lieutenant Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said.
"The students first gathered at Little Flower High School, in Qumbu, but police managed to disperse them.
"They later moved to St Barts Senior Secondary School where they started disrupting classes and destroying examination papers."
The pupils became violent after the police were called in. As police tried to disperse them, they started throwing stones.
"There were only six police officers. They were left with no choice but to use rubber bullets to disperse the pupils," Fatyela said.
Of the 18 pupils arrested, 17 were from St Barts and one from Majeke Senior Secondary School.
They are expected to appear in the Qumbu magistrate's court for public violence and intimidation.
Cosas insists on delay of final exams
THE Congress of South African Students is adamant that final matric examinations should be postponed.
Last week the organisation gave the Department of Basic Education until yesterday to meet their demands.
Cosas demands that final matric and preliminary exams be postponed by a week, two hours be added to the schooling day, Saturdays be a normal school day and the September holidays be cancelled.
"KwaZulu-Natal has said teachers would put in extra two hours on each school day and teach from 8am to 1pm on Saturdays," Cosas deputy secretary general Sbonelo Shezi said yesterday.
"We are meeting with the department and we therefore urge our members to remain in school. We still say that we cannot be part of the preliminary exams. We will only write internal tests.
"The department has told us that the postponement of final exams is a decision that has to be taken with other stakeholders like Umalusi, universities and government."
Shezi said Cosas members were still to decide what to do if exams were not postponed.
"We want a culture of learning and teaching but can never agree to writing to fail."
Cosas also wants the department to include Grade 10s and 11s in its recovery plan.
"The department's recovery plan does not include other grades. We see this as a danger that is going to affect not just Grade 12 students, but all students who have become victims of the teachers' strike," Shezi said.
There is no agreement between the department and the unions on how teachers will be remunerated for working on Saturdays and during the September school holidays that begin tomorrow.
National Teachers Union deputy president Allen Thompson said teachers were willing to recover the time lost during the strike.
"The department is delaying learning and teachers should not be blamed for it," he said.
"The teachers are willing to be part of the recovery plan but they are not going to work without being paid for it."
Cosas has been boycotting classes since last week.
They disrupted examinations at various schools on Monday, Lieutenant Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said.
"The students first gathered at Little Flower High School, in Qumbu, but police managed to disperse them.
"They later moved to St Barts Senior Secondary School where they started disrupting classes and destroying examination papers."
The pupils became violent after the police were called in. As police tried to disperse them, they started throwing stones.
"There were only six police officers. They were left with no choice but to use rubber bullets to disperse the pupils," Fatyela said.
Of the 18 pupils arrested, 17 were from St Barts and one from Majeke Senior Secondary School.
They are expected to appear in the Qumbu magistrate's court for public violence and intimidation.
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