The KwaZulu-Natal education department has called for submissions to explore ways to deal with the impact of ancestral callings on teaching and learning.

The call comes after numerous provincial schools were forced to close for several days last term when pupils displayed signs associated with such events.

KwaZulu-Natal education department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi told TimesLIVE on Friday the department had been “engulfed by many incidents of this nature”.

“We are always found wanting in dealing or responding appropriately, hence we are inviting people who are experts in this field to start a discourse,” he said.

The guiding themes for submissions are coexistence of faith and culture, the impact of initiation on teaching and learning, the teacher's perception of how ancestral callings affect teaching and learning, developing originators of thought and action related to ancestral calling, and colonial heritage and appropriation of western thinking.

The deadline for submissions is August 10.

TimesLIVE