Teachers unions on Monday reiterated their refusal to participate in this year’s Annual National Assessments (ANA).
This followed Sunday’s negotiations between Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and the unions to try to find a solution to their refusal to write the assessments in December.
The SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) said at the weekend that the decision to have the tests written in December‚ and subsequent announcement‚ was done without consultation.
Spokeswoman Nomusa Cembi told EWN on Sunday night: “The decision they took shows utter disrespect for the union. We are stakeholders in education.”
Salim Vally‚ director of the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) education faculty‚ warned of the danger of excluding the unions.
“There has to be meaningful consultation with the unions. One cannot push ahead unilaterally. There have been concerns expressed‚ not by just one union. Sadtu‚ Naptosa [National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA] and other unions have expressed concern‚” he said.
On Monday‚ at a press conference in Pretoria‚ the unions said that they did not the believe the ANAs‚ in their “current form”‚ were in the best interests of learners.
They said they would “not be administering” the ANAs‚ but were cautious not to label their refusal to do so as a “strike”‚ and rather called for a task team to be set up to address their concerns.
The assessments are standardised national assessments for languages and mathematics in the intermediate phase (grades 4-6) and in literacy and numeracy for the foundation phase (grades 1-3). They were introduced by Motshekga in 2011.
Teachers unions dig in over National Assessments refusal
Teachers unions on Monday reiterated their refusal to participate in this year’s Annual National Assessments (ANA).
This followed Sunday’s negotiations between Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and the unions to try to find a solution to their refusal to write the assessments in December.
The SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) said at the weekend that the decision to have the tests written in December‚ and subsequent announcement‚ was done without consultation.
Spokeswoman Nomusa Cembi told EWN on Sunday night: “The decision they took shows utter disrespect for the union. We are stakeholders in education.”
Salim Vally‚ director of the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) education faculty‚ warned of the danger of excluding the unions.
“There has to be meaningful consultation with the unions. One cannot push ahead unilaterally. There have been concerns expressed‚ not by just one union. Sadtu‚ Naptosa [National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA] and other unions have expressed concern‚” he said.
On Monday‚ at a press conference in Pretoria‚ the unions said that they did not the believe the ANAs‚ in their “current form”‚ were in the best interests of learners.
They said they would “not be administering” the ANAs‚ but were cautious not to label their refusal to do so as a “strike”‚ and rather called for a task team to be set up to address their concerns.
The assessments are standardised national assessments for languages and mathematics in the intermediate phase (grades 4-6) and in literacy and numeracy for the foundation phase (grades 1-3). They were introduced by Motshekga in 2011.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos