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Teachers on extended sick leave cost Eastern Cape R352m in 2019

The report paints a particularly miserable picture of schooling in the OR Tambo district, where 35 teachers are on sick leave.
The report paints a particularly miserable picture of schooling in the OR Tambo district, where 35 teachers are on sick leave.
Image: 123RF/paylessimages

Teachers who continue to draw salaries despite being away from the classroom for extended periods are costing the Eastern Cape education department hundreds of millions of rand each year.  

In 2018 sick leave cost the department more than R256m, yet it ballooned by almost R100m in 2019 to R352.5m, according to Bhisho's annual reports.

Given the severe disruptions to the schooling system in 2020, it is anyone's guess what the next report will reflect. Teachers' prolonged absence from work and other crises plaguing the department are detailed in a provincial education portfolio committee report tabled in the Bhisho legislature on December 3.

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