Sadtu turns back gains

THE ANC in Gauteng must be commended for its bold step of taking on Sadtu members who have continuously abused the relationship the union has with the ruling party.

Yesterday ANC provincial secretary David Makhura came out smoking and laid down the law for unruly teachers who have become a law unto themselves in the name of the "struggle".

Makhura identified such teachers as "rogues" bent on disrupting the education of the majority of black children, especially in Soweto.

South Africa is a democratic country that upholds everyone's right to protest and fight for better working and living conditions.

But concomitant with these rights is every citizen's responsibility to ensure that his, or her rights do not undermine those of the broader society.

As much as teachers have the right to fight for better pay and working conditions, so do pupils have the right to education.

Engaging in wildcat strikes and abandoning classes to go and support colleagues who face criminal charges goes against the grain of the commitment to provide quality education.

It also undermines President Jacob Zuma's call for effective teaching and learning. Intimidating and verbally abusing those who legally challenge alleged misdeeds by Sadtu members is not only undemocratic but also borders on criminality.

It is time that someone looked unruly Sadtu members in the eye and told them that their behaviour is unbecoming and perpetuates the apartheid legacy of under-educating the black nation.