Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube was met by protesting members of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) during a visit to the Maritime School of Excellence in Durban on Thursday.

She had gone to the school to inspect the progress made in the construction of the school, which will focus on the development of specialised skills in support of South Africa’s maritime and blue oceans economies.

The Minister was accompanied by Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule and Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka, who also visited Nsimbini Full Service School to monitor the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) as well as the Inanda Seminary School for Girls.

The MEC addressed the crowd, saying that the department has engaged with the leadership of the union and noted the concerns.

Hlomuka’s request for the group to allow Gwarube to address them was not received well, with members screaming that they will only listen to the MEC and Mhaule but not Gwarube.

Gwarube conducted a walkabout at the school, which the department said was nearing 78% completion.

“This institution is part of the Department’s strategy to establish focus schools that develop specialised skills in support of South Africa’s maritime and blue oceans economy.”

The school has 24 standard classrooms with smart interactive boards rather than the usual blackboards, 10 specialist laboratories equipped with smart screen televisions and foam cupboards with extraction fans attached to store dangerous chemicals, as well as an ocean simulation room.

Speaking to The Mercury following the walkabout, Gwarube said the project was due to be completed next year.

“For me, what this means is we are breathing life into what we call the three-stream model in the Department where we are saying that it's not necessary that our children are pigeon-holed simply into the academic stream,” she said.

She said the department needed to ensure that pupils were equipped with skills to enable them to leave school and enter the working world.

“Here we have a maritime school where learners will be coming to specialise particularly in maritime studies. It is particularly important because the province is looking at the ocean economy and how we can get local learners to come here to fit into the world of work,” she said.

Gwarube added that this school was particularly important to her because South Africa has one of the highest youth unemployment rates.

“If we get this right as the Department of Education, then we could have many more learners going into places of work to lessen that number and we can have more young people getting into work,” she said.

Asked about the the spate of alleged food poisoning incidents around the country, most of which involved primary school pupils who became ill after consuming snacks purchased from spaza shops and vendors, Gwarube noted that most of the incidents are happening outside the schools.

However she said the department has been in contact with the Department of Health.

“One of the things that I am seeking to do and seeking legal advice on is how to ban [organophosphate] pesticides from being brought onto school premises so that we can start to insulate the food that learners at our schools consume,” said Gwarube.

Approached about the protest on Thursday, Sadtu’s provincial secretary, Nomarashiya Caluza, said the picket was held as a result of the failure of the Department of Education to transfer financial allocations to schools.

“This has made it difficult for thousands of schools to function properly, especially now that they are expected to run internal examinations,” she said.

A large group of South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) members protested outside the Maritime School of Excellence in Durban during a visit by a government delegation from the Department of Education led by Minister Siviwe Gwarube.

Caluza said the department was supposed to make the payments in May, and the department had now unilaterally decided to pay in instalments of eight.

“The department has failed to pay the 1.5% pay progression for teachers which was supposed to be paid in July 2024,” she said, adding that Grade R Practitioners’ stipends have not been adjusted.

THE MERCURY

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