SNAT: SCHOOLS NOT READY TO REOPEN

MBABANE - As schools prepare to reopen tomorrow, SNAT and head teachers have expressed concerns about schools’ readiness to resume classes, citing a range of pressing issues.
They alleged that school bank accounts were nearly empty, due to government’s failure to fulfil its payment obligations, leaving many schools without essential resources like food, electricity and water. Furthermore, they also claimed that government has not permanently hired the 4 000 qualified teachers needed to fill the 4 000 vacant posts left by retired, deceased, transferred, dismissed and resigned staff. He said this exacerbated the challenges faced by schools.According to the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General (SG), Lot Vilakati, school bank accounts are reportedly dry, as government has not fulfilled its obligation of paying all the monies due to schools.

Food

Vilakati alleged that there is no food and electricity in schools at the moment, while other schools have no water.“We still have 700 high school degreed teachers, who are yet to be relocated from primary to high schools and open spaces for teachers qualified to teach in primary schools. “The government has failed to hire 4 000 permanently qualified new teachers to fill the 4 000 vacant posts from retired, deceased, transferred, dismissed and resigned teachers (those who are in Taiwan),” Vilakati said.Adding, he said from the close to 700 primary schools, government managed to hire 20 Grade Zero teachers.
Vilakati stated that, from the above-mentioned problems, and from the many they have been reporting, they want to clearly state that schools are not ready to reopen.“Opening schools will just be for the comfort of the Ministry of Education and Training and not for the good and future of the liSwati child. “If government is going to continue opening schools without addressing the listed basics, then education is doomed in the country,” he said.Furthermore, the SG mentioned that they would honour the school’s reopening but operations would be minimal. He said the operations would be minimal based on the aforementioned challenges faced by schools.

“We closed schools while pupils were knocking off at noon and they will continue to knock off early,” he said.On the same note, the Swaziland Association of School Administrators (SASA) Chairperson, Gcina Thusi, alleged that it is a fact that schools are not ready for reopening tomorrow.
Thusi said the Free Primary Education (FPE) Act states that government’s responsibility is to provide the first trench of the FPE grant to schools at the beginning of the first term and provide the second trench at the beginning of the second term.
He said currently, they were yet to start the last term and the FPE grants have not been paid.
“We taught the whole second term without the FPE grant. We even conducted mock-examination without any payments and we were forced into debt. To us, government failed to honour the Act,” Thusi alleged. The chairman shared that they even struggled to pay support staff salaries because schools, more especially primary schools have no money.
 “When we receive the first trench FPE payment, we always estimate how long it will last before we can receive the second trench. The second trench is a bit higher and it helps schools to operate.
Last term, schools were struggling and they will continue to struggle if they open without payments,” he said. He went on to state that some schools do not have food.Thusi said the shortage of food in schools is a real struggle. He said they do not know when it will end.He said the only schools that may have food currently were those that received their share on the last week when schools closed last term. “A majority of schools do not have food. The only thing I can think of now is that head teachers will be forced into debt in order to ensure that schools have food for pupils,” Thusi stated.

Furthermore, he mentioned that the only solution is for government to pay FPE and deliver enough food to all schools.He further said, even though there are teething challenges in schools, they opened schools as per the government’s expectations.Thusi said the truth is that government has allegedly not honoured its part to ensure that schools are ready for reopening tomorrow.

SCHOOLS OPENING NOT POSTPONED - MINISTRY

NHLANGANO - Schools reopening has not been postponed. The Ministry of Education and Training has clarified that schools are set to open as per the academic calendar.
The clarification was made by the ministry’s Communications Officer Gugu Masuku yesterday.This follows rumours that the opening of schools has been postponed because of the Shiselweni Reed Dance.On social media, old posts of schools opening postponements were circulated, which has left many confused about the opening of schools.Masuku said schools will open, adding that the Reed Dance is held on the weekend and not on school days.

She said, as usual, schools would break and Imbali proceed to the Reed Dance without any interruption. “Schools will break early and on Friday and Imbali willing to attend the Reed Dance will do so,” she said. Schools are expected to open tomorrow, September 10, 2024 for the third term.Completing classes will be writing their external examinations, which start around October for Form Vs. This is less than a month from now.

Changes

Masuku said had there been any changes, the ministry would have released an official statement, but since there was none, everything is supposed to go according to the school calendar.
It is worth noting that when schools were about to close for the second term, some head teachers voiced out their concerns over the shortage of food and even suggested closing schools early. They stated that they did not have food (also known as zondle) that is normally given to pupils daily. They shared that the pupils wrote their exams on empty stomachs.

This, according to the head teachers, was worrying them as some pupils, especially those from rural areas, came from less privileged families. They shared that some were dependent on the schools feedings scheme for food.One head teacher shared that during lunch break, the pupils used to camp next to his office and bang metal plates with spoons; indicating that they were hungry, yet there was no food. Shiselweni Regional Education Officer Siboniso Gumbi stated that he is aware that some schools have not received food.When reached for comment if food had been delivered to schools, he said delivering food is a process. He said food would be delivered when schools open. Gumbi said it has already been delivered in other schools.

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