THE ASSOCIATION OF FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING INSTITUTIONS OF SOUTH AFRICA (AFETISA) [THE COMMITTEE OF TECHNICAL COLLEGE PRINCIPALS (CTCP) IN TRANSITION] PRESENTATION TO THE PARLIAMENTARY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON THE AMENDMENT OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF EDUCATORS ACT OF 1998

The Association of Further Education and Training Institutions of South Africa (AFETISA) [Committee of Technical College Principals (CTCP)] thanks the Portfolio Committee for the opportunity to present their comments regarding the amendments to the Educators Employment Act of 1998. AFETISA is an association of institutions which are currently technical colleges, but which will, in the near future be declared public Further Education and Training institutions, according to national criteria. AFETISA membership comprises the institutions, which are represented by the Heads of the institutions.

AFETISA/CTCP acknowledges the structures and processes, which are described in the Amended Bill, but as an introductory statement to our comment, we wish the following to be noted:

  1. CTCP/AFETISA acknowledges for purposes of this presentation, the division of education and training provision into the three bands, namely, the General Education and Training band, (GET), the Further Education and Training band (FET), and the Higher Education and Training band (HET).
  2. CTCP/AFETISA makes a distinction between institutions which provide programmes in the Further Education and Training band, (such as public and private schools, colleges, technikons, and adult learning centres), and those institutions that will be declared as Further Education and Training Institutions. This distinction is important, for the following reasons:
    1. The Further Education and Training Act, Act of 1998, of the Department of Education (DoE), legislates the declaration of certain institutions to become FET institutions, according to nationally-agreed criteria
    2. The 152 Technical Colleges have been identified by the DoE as the first institutions which will be clustered and/or merged, and declared FET institutions.
    3. Recently, in a press statement, the Deputy Director-General of the DoE indicated that this process would be happening soon, and indicated that the 26 Technical High Schools would be incorporated into this process.
    4. The declaration of institutions as FET institutions will significantly reduce the number of institutions from 152 colleges and 26 schools to possibly no more than 60 (nationally) FET institutions.
    5. The proposed profile of these FET institutions differs significantly from that of a school or college which offers FET programmes. The proposed FET institutions will serve a national (and even international) market, and offer programmes in both the FET and HET bands, as well as on level one of the National Qualifications Framework, in programmes for adult learners. The personnel requirements, and management dynamics for these institutions will require them to have maximum autonomy in institutional labour relations, inline with national LR policies, rather than Education-specific Labour Relations, such as is espoused in a separate Employment of Educators Act.

  3. CTCP/AFETISA believes that schools will remain schools offering GET/FET programmes for a significant period of time into the future, and should remain a provincial competence, under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Education Departments. The application of the Employment of Educators Act, as amended, should still apply to the schools, and the educators employed to teach in schools.
  4. The declaration of technical colleges as FET institutions will require them to function as institutions such as Technikons and Universities. We therefore believe that:
    1. Serious consideration should be given to amending the Constitution, to place the FET institutions as a national competence, directly under the DoE, and more specifically under the policy management of the new FET Deputy Director-General's office; and
    2. The Employment of Educators Act, as amended, will not apply to the FET institutions, but that the FET institutions should rather fall under the Labour Relations Act, as do Technikons and Universities.

  5. CTCP/AFETISA believes that by approving the proposals contained in 4.1 and 4.2 above, the system governing the labour relations and conditions of employment of educators, trainers, and facilitators will be streamlined, and be more efficient to manage, since the synergy between FET institutions and HET institutions will be more apparent, once FET institutions are operational.
  6. We do wish to comment however, in the absence of the above proposals being a present reality.

COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE EEA OF 1998.

  1. In general CTCP/AFETISA supports the majority of the proposed amendments contained in the Amendment Bill.
  2. We also welcome the more comprehensive aligning of the proposed amendments to the Educator's Employment Act, with the LRA. We believe this is a step in the right direction to simplify labour relations procedures and its impact on the plethora of legislation that presently exists for Education and Training.
  3. We welcome the inclusion of Schedules 1 and 2, and the clarification these schedules provide about issues which were previously either ambiguous or not specified in the EEA. We do not, however, agree with the proposed extreme punitive approach to discipline, contained in Schedule 1, and recommend that the progressively punitive, and conciliatory spirit of discipline espoused in the LRA, rather be applied in the case of educators.
  4. We have severe reservations, however, about Article 6 of the proposed amendments, and cannot support this article for the following reasons:
    1. The new FET Act clearly enunciates a greater degree of autonomy for FET institutions, and especially for the Governing Councils of these institutions.
    2. The new FET Act allows for a process, managed by the Governing Council of the institution, of shortlisting, interviewing, and recommendation of suitable candidates for posts. This process contained in the FET Act is the result of negotiations and agreements reached between the DoE and all the unions, in the bargaining councils.
    3. The FET Act provides for a new dispensation of human resource development in the institution, with each institution being required to develop and manage a comprehensive HR policy and implementation plan, as part of its strategic plan.
    4. By allowing the Head of Department, as per Section 6, subsection (3), (e), (iii) to initially appoint, promote or transfer persons to any post on the educator establishment of an institution, infringes on the right of the institution to apply a democratic and inclusive interview process in the filling of its posts, recommend the most suitable person for the post at the institution within agreed Equity policies, and to exercise its autonomy, as proposed in the FET Act.
    5. Once again, concern must be raised that different pieces of legislation appear to contradict one another in crucial areas, which leads to great confusion and inefficiencies in the system, as well as in the implementation of legislation.
    6. CTCP/AFETISA recommends that the Governing Council of the institution, within a policy of equity and redress, still maintains the autonomous right to provide the Head of Education with the recommended list of first and second nominee for a post, and still maintains the right to recommend to the Head of Education, the promotion of employees in an institution.

  5. AFETISA has a second area of concern, namely Article 17 of the amended Bill. CTCP/AFETISA recommends that the section 17 (I) be amended to include a statement which incorporates that the educator will be dismissed if the educator be found guilty of the misconduct of which he/she was charged
  6. Without this statement, the constitutional and labour rights of an educator could be compromised.

Issues for consideration, which are not clear from the EEA, include:

AFETISA would appreciate an opportunity to engage in discussions with the portfolio committee members regarding the above crucial issues.

In closing, we once again reiterate that AFETISA proposes that FET institutions become a national competence, and its labour relations legislated through the LRA.