PUPILS LEFT ALONE AS TEACHERS JOIN DEMONSTRATIONS

NHLANGANO – Many pupils around the country had to sit and do nothing in their classrooms as teachers abandoned their schools and opted for demonstrations.

Head teachers across the country were confronted with a tricky situation of whether or not to allow teachers to participate in yesterday’s demonstrations. The same situation will prevail again on Friday as teachers are expected to converge at the SNAT Centre in Manzini for a mass meeting to decide on whether they would be downing their tools next week or not.
The effects of yesterday’s demonstrations by the teachers were noted in the classrooms, where pupils were left unattended, with some later seen roaming around the streets as there were no educators to supervise them.

Petition

This was evident from the huge number of teachers who attended the petition-delivery marches which were held in the four regions of the country; Hhohho (Mbabane), Manzini (Manzini), Shiselweni (Nhlangano) and Lubombo (Siteki). The petition-delivery marches were attended by members of the three public sector associations (PSAs), which intend to strike from next week Wednesday. The PSAs are the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) and Swaziland National Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP).

Some of the pupils would later be seen hugging their teachers in public, a gesture whose significance could not be immediately ascertained. It was not instantly clear whether the pupils were embracing their teachers in support of their course or they were merely being happy to meet them in town. This was after the teachers had dispersed, following a day long demonstration around the streets. In other schools it was gathered that pupils were released as early as 10am, because there were no teachers to attend to them. An interviewed pupil from Velebantfu High School, outside Hlatikhulu, confirmed that they had to break early yesterday. There were, however, those schools where head teachers were left with a few educators as many of them were participating in yesterday’s event.

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