Times Of Swaziland: GOVT DECLINES TO POSTPONE SCHOOLS OPENING

GOVT DECLINES TO POSTPONE SCHOOLS OPENING
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Sibusiso Zwane on 23/03/2022 08:38:00


MANZINI - Government has declined a proposal by Eswatini Principals Association
(EPA), to defer the opening of schools for the 2022 calendar year, especially
the first term.
The principals association had officially written a proposal to the Ministry of
Education and Training, in particular to the office of the principal secretary
(PS). The letter, which was signed by EPA Secretary General (SG) Mduduzi
Masilela, is dated March 8, 2022 and titled; Re; proposal to review the school
calendar - 2022. This was confirmed by EPA President Welcome Mhlanga, who said
the national executive committee (NEC) of the association had been inundated
with a number of concerns from their members regarding challenges which might be
the result of the dates of the 2022 school calendar - in particular, the start
of the first term.
Overwhelmed
He said in their submissions to the ministry; they mentioned that they were of
the view that the one-week school break (March 25, 2022 to April 5, 2022) was
not reasonable for them. He said teachers needed time to rest as they were
overwhelmed. One reason he mentioned was that delivering on the compressed
syllabus under intense pressure to cover most of it, balancing teaching and also
supervising the classes of their colleagues who were away to mark the external
examinations, was and would continue to be strenuous. Furthermore, Mhlanga said
the teachers who remained behind still had to prepare and mark the internal
examinations, as well as compile progress reports for the learners. Again, he
said marking of the external examinations was energy-consuming and exerted
further stress to meet the set deadlines. “In that regard, the teachers will
need to rest and rejuvenate the mind in preparation for the first term of
2022,” the EPA president said.
Furthermore, he said some teachers would be marking the Form V external
examinations after March 31, 2022 and they would need to rest thereafter. On
another note, he said the admission process of new learners required time and
was undertaken by both the school management and the admissions committee, which
comprised of teachers. On top of that, he argued that parents also needed
sufficient time to look for spaces and make the necessary arrangements, as per
the school requirements for admission, like payment of school fees and
submission of proof of payments to the schools. “The one week is not
sufficient to carry out this activity,” he said.
Thereafter, the leader of the principals’ associations said teachers, through
the heads of department, needed time to prepare mini budgets, which would be
incorporated into the main school budget. He said teachers had to juggle this
exercise with the other instructional responsibilities mentioned above.
Moreover, he added that the school committees also required time to convene
parents meetings for the presentation of financial reports as well as the budget
of the institutions, for the parents’ approval of new fees and other pertinent
school matters.
“It is against the above chronology of activities that the EPA proposes a
school break of two weeks; by closing schools on March 25, 2022 and reopening on
April 12, 2022, instead April 5, 2022,” Mhlanga said. Meanwhile, the PS in the
Ministry of Education and Training, Bhekithemba Gama, said they received the
proposed from the principals association. However, he said their proposal was
declined.
Request
He said the request was denied because as a ministry, they reported to
international bodies where there were minimum standards set for operations of
schools. In particular, the PS said the number of hours spent in school
mattered. The ministry claimed that it responded to the principals association
through an electronic mail and fax last Friday, March 18, 2022. However, the EPA
leadership said they did not receive feedback from the ministry. As such, they
said they would make a follow-up today. It is worth noting that this academic
year, there would be two terms, instead of three. This was according to an
announcement which was made by the Minister of Education and Training, Lady
Mabuza, on January 21, 2022.