Challenging SADTU and Affiming Good Teaching

This media release from the meeting of Provincial Synod was issued on 4 October 2013

Anglican Church Challenges SADTU and Affirms Good Teaching

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa has called on church members who also belong to the South African Democratic Teachers' Union either to “transform the trade union into a body that truly serves the cause of education, or resign from SADTU.”

The Church's Provincial Synod, its highest legislative and deliberative body, adopted a resolution on Friday which also:
• Condemned “corruption and laziness which deprives our children of the education they deserve”;
• Called on SADTU “to refrain from destructive stay-aways”;
• asked Parliament to declare the teaching profession to be an essential service.

However the Synod said it also recognised “the care, dedication and commitment of many teachers all over southern Africa” and thanked “the dedicated officials in our various departments of education, at provincial and national level.”

The resolution was proposed by the Very Revd Andrew Hunter, Dean of Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, and seconded by the Revd Matt Esau of the Diocese of Cape Town. It was adopted with only a few dissenting voices.

The full text of the resolution proposed by Dean Hunter follows below.

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Inquiries: Ms Wendy Kelderman, 021 763 1320 (office hours)
The Revd Canon Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, 082 856 2082 (during Synod)

Full Text of Resolution

This Synod:

Noting the theme of the Archbishop’s Charge, “A Vision for Education – Education for a Vision”
1. Affirms the work done by our Anglican independent schools all over southern Africa;
2. Thanks our school chaplains for their ministry and encourages them in their work for the Lord
3. Welcomes the initiatives in a number of our dioceses, to partner with local public schools, and the efforts made to meet basic needs, particularly in our poorer communities;
4. Recognises the care, dedication and commitment of many teachers all over southern Africa;
5. Thanks the dedicated officials in our various departments of education, at provincial and national level;
Noting, at the same time, the appalling conditions in which too many of our children are expected to learn and thrive: absentee teachers, badly maintained school buildings, little or no sanitation, school books not being delivered,
This Synod:
6. Condemns corruption and laziness which deprives our children of the education they deserve;
7. Calls on Anglican teachers who are members of SADTU to either transform the trade union into a body that truly serves the cause of education, or resign from SADTU;
8. Calls on SADTU to refrain from destructive stay-aways
9. Calls on parliament to implement legislation that declares teaching profession to be an essential service;
10. Makes it clear to all education department officials that inefficiency and corruption is unacceptable – either do their job or resign
11. Supports firm action being taken against recalcitrant teaching or administrative officials
12. Calls on all School Governing Bodies to take ownership of our schools and hold staff and pupils to account
13. Urges Anglicans to do all in their power to ensure that our schools are places of learning, life, safety and discovery