The New Surfacing Image of the Teaching Profession

Abstract

Current discourses in education circles are on the professional status of the teaching profession due to teachers’ continued involvement in labour protests. This paper discusses whether teachers may still be considered as professionals or workers. There is an assumption that if formulated policies reflect on alleviating the plight and actual conditions in which teachers work, strikes can be halted resulting in quality teaching and learning in schools. A literature review was conducted to seek solutions to this impasse. It is expected that with insight into the actual teachers’ working conditions by policymakers, barriers that lead to endless labour protests may be alleviated to restore professionalism in teaching.

Keywords

Labour Relations Act professionalism South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU)The National Professional Teachers’ Organization of South Africa (NAPTOSA)unionism teaching profession

Introduction and background

Various researchers including Bascia and Osmond (2012, 2013), Diko and Letseka (2009), Fleisch (2010), Govender (2004), MacBeath (2012), and Taylor (2011) have debated whether teachers should be regarded as professionals or workers. Such debates arise due to teachers’ conditions of employment, the school working environment and the never-ending engagements in labour protests and strikes. These debates lead to the question of whether teachers should be allowed to join unions or simply regard themselves as professionals by denouncing any form of protest action. This question resurfaces behind views by Bascia and Rottmann (2011) that the primary role of unions is to act as the vehicles by which teachers’ concerns about their conditions of teaching and learning reach the attention of policymakers. Bascia and Osmond (2013) also contend that there should be relations of cooperation between unions and governments without compromising on teachers’ protection of their integrity. Msila (2013) postulates that when teachers go on strike, the future of learners is compromised in the process. Teachers’ protest actions always coincide with teaching time in an effort to force the employer to engage in discussions about their working conditions. It is for this reason that Bascia and Osmond (2013) in their address to Education International, the global mother body of teacher unions, have openly declared that in countries where there is cooperation between governments and unions there has been remarkable progress in the education system. Bascia and Osmond (2013) further assert that the most powerful unions are those that are able to partner with governments without forgetting the realities under which teachers work in order to submit genuine concerns to policymakers. Teacher unions, according to Compton (2008) and by their very nature, must be responsive to their members’ concerns about working conditions. The author is therefore of the view that if unions fail to maintain a balance between the needs of teachers and those of learners during collaborations with governments, then they cease to become unions.

The above argument leads to further debates by Coppersmith (2013) and Msila (2013) on the teachers’ right to strike and the significance of industrial action on the future of learners. This includes the question of whether teaching may be regarded as an essential service or not. Examples of essential services are the army and the police who are not allowed to engage in strike action in terms of the South African Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA) (Republic of South Africa, 1995). Buhlungu and Psoullis (1999), cited in Cherry (2002), acknowledge that the South African LRA is recognised as one of the most friendly and liberal dispensations in the world. They also add that the LRA covers the rights of teachers extensively (Buhlungu and Psoullis, 1999). The LRA in South Africa was established with the intention to ensure that all employees have a say in all matters related to their employment through unions in terms of the Collective Agreement No. 2 of 2005.

Another aim of the LRA, according to Heystek and Lethoko (2006), has been to create an establishment whereby the salaries of employees can be negotiated to prevent possible industrial and labour action that could jeopardise teaching and learning in South African schools. Westa and Mykerezib (2011) also add that among these is the formulation of partnerships and conditions in the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) that are conducive to the promotion of organised and cooperative bargaining by stakeholders (Westa and Mykerezib, 2011). In terms of Section 3.2.1(d) of Collective Agreement No. 2 of 2005, the ELRC is the body that has been in existence to ensure that teachers work in an environment where their rights and responsibilities are taken care of during policy formulation for effective teaching and learning to occur.

In terms of the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 (SASA) (Republic of South Africa, 1996), teacher unions have to nominate and second teacher representatives to serve on the ELRC for extended periods. It is for this reason the author contends that the teacher representatives at the ELRC are more likely to lose touch with the realities at school level and may end up misrepresenting the concerns of teachers they supposedly represent if they remain there for extended periods. This is likely to happen because teacher representatives serve on the ELRC for indefinite periods of time, ranging from three to five years according to the ELRC regulations as documented in the Employment of Educators’ Act 84 of 1998 (EEA) (Republic of South Africa, 1998).

This article articulates on the nature of teaching as a profession in South Africa and how several researchers and critics on teacher unionism regard teaching as a career. The author argues whether policies that are formulated by unions together with the employer at the ELRC level reflect on the plight and actual conditions in which teachers work. A question is also raised on whether the employer’s perception and expectation of teachers to act as professionals by sticking to the code of professional ethics is misplaced or rightly placed. Through in-depth literature reviews the author seeks to investigate if policy formulators at the ELRC are knowledgeable about the nature of policies that could lead to enhanced teacher performance. It is expected that when there is insight into the actual conditions under which teachers work, formulated policies may help address the barriers that lead to endless labour unrests and strike actions as policies are reviewed accordingly, as Bascia and Osmond (2013) support this notion on the expected role of powerful unions. A description of the origins and nature of teacher unionism in South Africa opens this discussion. Thereafter, teacher unionism in the South African context is deliberated on. The status of teaching in the eyes of various researchers comes under review followed by debates on the concept of teacher unionism. This article is concluded with recommendations that focus on bringing back the integrity of the teaching profession.

The origins and nature of teacher unionism in South Africa

To begin this section, it is important to provide a description of a union by engaging with the views and opinions of various researchers on teacher unionism. According to the ELRC Policy Handbook for Educators (2003), a union is an organised group of workers who collectively use their strength to have a voice in the workplace. Mothata et al. (2001) describe a union as a structure that is formed in order to secure the interests, salaries and all other employees’ conditions of employment. Bascia and Rottmann (2011) explain that the primary function of teacher unions is to act as vehicles by which teachers’ concerns about the conditions of teaching and learning reach the attention of policymakers.

To provide the reader with background information on the origins and justification for the need for teacher unionism in South Africa, it is important to briefly explain the circumstances prevailing during the apartheid epoch to be able to confirm if teacher unionism still serves its purpose. Bascia and Osmond (2012) and Govender (2004) state that during the apartheid regime in South Africa, non-white teachers had no significant representation within the then Department of Bantu Education. Govender (2004) adds that only white teachers were represented by the Teachers Federal Council (TFC) which negotiated on their behalf in all labour-related matters that included salaries which were significantly higher than those of other racial groups. Non-white teachers had to be subservient and accept all conditions of service that were negotiated between the State and the TFC on their behalf (Govender, 2004) and without their mandate. In 1976, according to Behr (1984), the Joint Council of Teacher Association (JOCOTAN) came into existence in the then Natal province and its membership covered teachers from all racial groups. The JOCOTAN’s aim was to promote professional networks and associations among teachers at grassroots level (Behr, 1984). In Behr’s (1984: 106) words, ‘JOCOTAN was loosely structured, which could be ascribed to the fact that it was an association, not a union’. Policies were not negotiated with stakeholders and teachers were, as a result, expected to conform to all policies and implement them without question, or be expelled from the profession (Behr, 1984). Jansen (2001: 243) concurs that ‘…the teacher was conceived as a state functionary with limited autonomy, an obedient servant that executed well defined instructional tasks according to the official syllabus’.

Teacher unionism in South Africa therefore emerged as a result of continued harassment of non-white teachers by the then government officials. Zengele (2011) agrees with Behr (1984) that an association of teachers that is discussed in this section does not really fit the description of a union but an association. The word ‘association’ is, however, used interchangeably with ‘unionism’ in South Africa and in this article.

According to Bascia and Osmond’s (2013) report, in the 1980s there was an attempt to unify the teaching profession by forming the National Teachers’ Unity Forum (NTUF) which failed dismally. Teacher unions which consisted of all racial groups in South Africa emerged as part of the struggle against the oppressive apartheid regime as already enunciated. One of these became the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) which currently has the largest membership of teachers in South Africa (Zengele, 2011). The National Professional Teachers’ Organization of South Africa (NAPTOSA) was established post-1994 from a number of previously segregated unions according to (Balt, 2008). Zengele (2011) clarifies that SADTU is an affiliate of a large labour federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), which is in a tripartite alliance with the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party in South Africa together with the South African Communist Party (SACP).

Bascia and Osmond (2013) state that since the formation of a democratically elected government and non-racist Department of Education, which is currently known as the Department of Basic Education (DBE), South Africa has been immersed in the restructuring process of a new education system. The DBE comes with new policies and structures intended to counter old inequities and past imbalances as a result of apartheid. Govender (2004) posits that in 1996 the National Educational Policy Act 27 prescribed that the education department should consult with all education stakeholders when formulating policies. The LRA ensured that all employees, including teachers, had the right to collective bargaining and to embark on strike action as long as the strike was protected and legal. According to Govender (2004), SADTU, as a union mainly consisting of the younger generation of teachers who had endured the unjust apartheid policies including the Soweto 1976 uprisings, saw a huge increase in membership because of their radical approach. Fleisch and Christie (2010) further postulate that the emergence of the mass-based and militant SADTU in the early 1990s was a direct by-product of the political transition and revolution. This new teachers’ union grew rapidly as the voice of a large section of newly qualified and younger teachers. The leadership cadre of the union, who were teachers and had started becoming active in the various student organisations, had begun their careers in authoritarian institutions under the apartheid era around the mid-1980s (Fleisch and Christie, 2010). Many of the older generation of principals and inspectors who were either unaffiliated or mainly belonged to NAPTOSA felt threatened by the young teachers who chased them out of schools during the mid to late 1980s according to Fleisch and Christie (2010) and Govender (2004). These young and militant teachers had comparatively good university and college qualifications and were committed to democratic values and social change in education delivery since some of them were either from political exile or were former political prisoners (Fleisch and Christie, 2010).

NAPTOSA suffered a severe blow when Afrikaans teachers withdrew their membership and formed the Suid Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie (SAOU) (in English, South African Teachers’ Union) when they realised that the Afrikaans language was facing extinction in schools through the new collaborative and non-racial policies (Govender, 2004; Zengele, 2011). This further made SADTU the largest union with membership figures reaching about 200,000 in South Africa (Zengele, 2011). That represented about 80% of organised labour in the teaching profession (Govender, 2004). Govender (2004) posits that SADTU and NAPTOSA were both built on non-racist policies and principles although their approaches towards government policies remained different. The SAOU still represents the Afrikaans-speaking teachers in South Africa (Govender 2004).

Govender (2004) alludes to the fact that teacher unions are expected to defend members’ interests but also are encouraged to work in partnership with government in developing policies and to uphold standards of professionalism in teaching. This view is in line with Bascia and Osmond’s (2013) assertion that unions have to ensure that professionalism in teaching is upheld within the teaching profession while the rights of teachers are also protected.

Levin (2010) asserts that fundamentally all top-performing countries with subscriptions to International Educational, the world mother body of teacher unions, have both strong unions and governments. Bascia and Osmond (2013) also contend that unions that are able to form associations with governments while at the same time safeguarding the needs and concerns of their members are actually strong unions. According to Bascia and Osmond (2013), South Africa is one of the few countries in the world where there has been strong collaboration between government and unions despite the collaboration challenges that will be discussed later in this article.

From the earlier descriptions of unions by various authors, it becomes evident that unions are entities that participate in policy-making decisions within the ELRC in South Africa. The LRA has entrenched the position of teachers through their unions in the ELRC as key stakeholders for the development and formulation of policies. This is a move that has been unheard of in the past pertaining to South Africa politics. Mahlangu and Pitsoe (2013) articulate that teacher unions have grown in stature within the DBE bureaucratic structures through the formulation and establishment of the ELRC. According to the ELRC Policy Handbook for Educators (2003), the ELRC is a body that was constituted to bargain for the basic working conditions of teachers in South Africa after the end of apartheid in 1994. Its main purpose was to constitute a body that would look after teachers while they were engaged in effective teaching and learning activities thus redeeming their professional status, according to Zengele (2011).

The main purpose of a union in terms of the EEA and the LRA is to safeguard the interests of its members, who in this case are the teachers as earlier stated in this article. In terms of SASA and the LRC, teacher unions have to be accepted as key and official stakeholders by the employer in all matters relating to the negotiation of improved working conditions as occurs in countries where there is collaboration (Bascia and Osmond, 2013). This seldom happens in South Africa since the employer is often regarded, by the employees, as not sympathetic towards the plight of teachers, hence the labour protests by teachers that have compromised on the quality of education delivery and the status of teaching in South Africa (Bloch, 2009; Fleisch, 2010). The rift is also formed when unions regularly adopt an uncompromising stance when the employer does not accede to its demands and forces a stand-off that threatens effective delivery of effective teaching and learning in schools, as Govender (2004) states.

Apple (2013) adopts a different opinion in that there are incessant attacks on unions from all directions by the private sector and conventional groups in governments in most parts of the world. This could be another indication that not everyone regards teacher unionism in a positive light. The status of the teaching profession is discussed in the following section.

The status of the teaching profession

A number of researchers such as Fernandez (2011), Kingdon and Muzammil (2013) and Mahlangu and Pitsoe (2011, 2013) including media detractors have posed debates on whether teacher unionism promotes professionalism or not. The research conducted by Kingdon and Muzammil (2013) has shown that in terms of the performance of unionised and non-unionised teachers, learners taught by non-unionised teachers seemed to perform much better that those taught by unionised teachers. Contrary to these findings, Bascia and Osmond (2013) report that in countries where teachers are unionised and there is collaboration between government and unions, there is prosperity. These are countries such as Canada, Sweden and the United States of America (USA) to mention a few. In South Africa, research findings by Kingdon and Muzammil (2013) as stated above seem relevant to the South African current chaotic conditions especially in township schools which form the majority. These researchers (Kingdon and Muzammil, 2013) argue that unions have a capacity for massive disruptive behaviour and large mobilisation capability to finance demonstrations and sustain strikes because of teachers’ voting power during the election for a new government. It is for this reason that Kingdon and Muzammil (2013) surmise that teacher unions can be both an attractive political ally and powerful enemy in the face of adversity. Kingdon and Muzammil (2013) say such contrasting views indeed generate further discussions on teachers’ rights to participate in labour-related disputes which in South Africa remains the teachers’ right to go on strike as long as it is a protected and legal strike. When discussions on the possibility of declaring teaching an essential service emerged around government circles in South Africa in 2013, there was a threat of revolt by SADTU and they even called for the resignation of the Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga (Chuenyane, 2009: 1) . The reader must be alerted that the current Minister of Basic Education is one of the founder members of SADTU. The proposed plan by government to declare teaching an essential service was apparently abandoned since it was raised around the period of the general elections and teachers affiliated to SADTU hold a significant voting capacity (Mohamed, 2013).

The impact of school governing bodies on the status of the teaching profession

Heystek (2011) contends that the question of whether teachers are professionals or workers also has to do with the schools and teachers’ control by ordinary parents in the majority of schools who constitute the majority seats in School Governing Bodies (SGB). Mncube (2009) posits that it is common knowledge that in township and rural schools, which are generally in poor communities, parents are mostly illiterate or semi-literate. This tends to limit their meaningful participation within the SGBs (Mncube, 2009). When addressing issues that are pertinent to the working conditions of teachers such parents may not have the capacity to deliberate effectively on policies that directly affect teachers (Mncube, 2009). For this reason, Heystek (2011) argues there is a likelihood that most of the parent members serving on the SGB, even with the assumed minimal SGB training, do not have the necessary literacy level to read legislation, draft policies and manage budgets. The author further contends that the ability to read legislation precedes the ability to analyse and interpret policies which sometimes could be a challenge even to some teachers as higher order skills are needed in this regard. The parental literacy levels, their limited experience in management and governance as well as their time and availability to attend meetings are some of the challenges which may limit their active participation and contribution to discussions at governing body meetings (Heystek, 2011; Mncube, 2009). If democracy implies participative democracy for engagement according to Heystek (2011), it is doubtful whether the governance of schools reflects true democracy that would enhance professionalism among teachers.

Mokoena’s study (2011) also shows that SGBs mostly in township and rural schools consist of illiterate or semi-literate parents. In addition, Mthiyane et al. (2014) contend that such SGBs are usually not well conversant with school policies and legislation pertaining to school governance. Since SGBs have a stronger say in the recommendations of successful candidates when teaching posts are advertised in terms of the EEA, they may easily and incorrectly operate under the illusion that they are the ones who appoint teachers and thus have to supervise them. Heystek (2011) therefore concludes that the parent SGB component responsibilities could be more accurately defined as administrative functions rather than democratic and educational power tools to enhance quality education and a degree of professionalism among teachers. Meanwhile, teachers are of the opinion that parents should not have a say in their employment including promotions because of their generally lower educational levels and lack of experience within the teaching profession (Heystek, 2011).

The salaries of teachers

Kingdon and Muzammil (2013) and Rivkin et al. (2005) posit that there is increasing evidence that the quality of life of a teacher plays a significant role in learner achievement. This could imply that the nature of the salary of teachers could attract more professionalism in teaching. On the other hand, the research by Diko and Letseka (2009) shows that teachers are more likely to remain within the profession if the processes of filling promotional positions were just and transparent rather than a mere salary raise. While Bennell (2004) says that the immiserated image of the teaching profession is most apparent in Malawi and Uganda where the average earnings of teachers are less than skilled workers in the private sector, Barry (2014) still maintains that the salaries of teachers in South Africa are limited so as to be less than workers that consider themselves professionals in other sectors.

Armstrong (2014) argues that teachers are underpaid, especially the high-performing ones, which results in their poor performance in the classroom due to the fact that they are paid the same salaries as poorly performing teachers. However, Armstrong (2014) says that there must be means to incentivise teachers in terms of experience and performance to prevent the current attrition rates as espoused by Van der Berg et al. (2011). When it comes to teachers’ incentives, Van der Berg et al. (2011) suggest that the time that teachers spend in the classroom should be compared to the private sector employees. In the same breath, the author argues that while teachers have to spend an average of eight hours per day in the classroom, they still have to spend additional hours preparing for the next day’s lessons while at the school after hours. In summary, Armstrong’s study (2014) has found that the salaries of teachers in South Africa remain unattractive within the civil service and not comparable to the salaries of professionals in other fields. The author views the teachers’ flat salary structure which is based on their qualifications as problematic in the sense that even the low-performing teachers are paid the same salary within the DBE. The reader is reminded about an intention by the DBE five years ago to introduce the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) in order to remunerate teachers based on their performance which was rejected by unions (Khanyi, 2013). Unions such as SADTU have rejected such quality assurance mechanisms by the DBE on grounds that schools in South Africa have been operating on an uneven playing field since 1994 and those who are supposed to evaluate teachers are incompetent themselves (Khanyi, 2013).

Letseka et al. (2013) differ from the above point of view on grounds that SADTU routinely organises strikes and protest marches to ‘demand’ salary increases and related benefits that are often above market value. This happens despite the South African National Treasury’s stand that salaries within the public sector and civil service amount to 32% of the country’s annual budget, which stood at R850 billion during the SADTU-organised disruptive strike in 2009 (Letseka et al., 2013).

NAPTOSA’s former president maintains that teachers are paid meagre salaries and argues that it is time their working conditions were improved in order to bring back the integrity of the profession (Balt, 2008). Balt could be implying that teachers stand little opportunity to be considered as professionals by the public unless their working conditions are improved since most schools are situated in rural or township communities. The author argues that this view by the former NAPTOSA president is contradictory based on the premise on which this union was formed, considering it mainly consists of the formerly privileged population group in South Africa, with affluent backgrounds. While NAPTOSA membership mainly consists of formerly privileged teachers, it also has many black teachers who are older, more experienced and more tolerant of the status quo from the apartheid era.

The concept of professionalism in context

The concept ‘professional’ is therefore broadly perceived and very fluid in nature while bordering on some degree of subjectivity for the reasons stated in the previous section. Gamble (2010) posits that Etzioni’s (1969) influential American study in 1969 grouped teachers, nurses and social workers among the ‘semi-professions’. Gamble (2010) goes on to say their teaching has been plagued by its association with women and children, as both groups are accordingly assigned low social status. Beck (2008: 122) concurs that one of the main reasons for the semi-professional positioning of teaching was that school ‘teaching was and remains a strongly feminised occupation’. Whitty (2008) explains that the nature of teachers’ professional mandate has become a key policy issue and determinant for governments in many countries. This is the reason behind Bascia and Osmond’s (2013) assertion that in countries where collaborations between governments and unions exist, it is true that there is a chance that teachers may begin to regard themselves as professionals. Gamble (2010) uses the trait theory, professionalisation theory and occupational control theory in order to gauge careers on their degrees of professionalism. The result is that, based on the theories presented, teaching is not a profession but a semi-profession (Gamble, 2010). MacBeath (2012) explains teaching as a career path that is characterised by minimal entry requirements for training, low pay and benefits, and has a location at the bottom rung of the ladder of society, in what is cynically referred to as women’s work. Ingersoll (2003) further says teachers suffer from lack of autonomy and flexibility. In South Africa, teachers lack flexibility in terms of what to teach in class as they are confined by the syllabus that is set by the DBE and its nine provincial education departments. Autonomy is said to be non-existent due to the fact that district officials, departmental heads and principals have to monitor teachers’ work even when they have limited proficiency in those learning areas or subjects (Khanyi, 2013).

Former SADTU president Thobile Ntola (2008), in one of his public speeches, reiterated that SADTU was fully committed towards the creation of a union that only consisted of professionals. Ntola proclaimed that SADTU was going to drive the union towards the attainment of professional ethics by getting rid of all members that exhibited unprofessional and unethical behaviour according to Ntola (2008), had to be seen as the face and image of the profession and not be regarded as a trade union. In contrast to Ntola’s words, the then ousted SADTU president, Willie Madisha, said that SADTU was only regarded as a union of workers and not professionals. It is such opposing views by the two past SADTU presidents that have been the source of confusion as to whether teaching should be regarded as a profession or not, thus confusing its membership in terms of orientation and values.

Hartshorne (1992: 323) contends that it has been the under-privileged teachers in South Africa who have identified themselves with the proletariat because of the injustices meted out on them by the apartheid government before 1994 in the form of Bantu Education. The author therefore suggests it could still be improbable and premature for the majority of teachers to have conducted themselves as professionals considering the prevailing inhumane treatment and working conditions before 1994. The behaviour of teachers is, however, questionable when there is currently lawlessness and violence by SADTU members themselves against teachers who do not participate in strike actions and protests during the post-apartheid era of democratic rule in South Africa (Fleisch (2009) and Zengele (2011). This has led to some authors describing the state of education in South Africa as in a form of collapse because of the loss of the aspect of professionalism among teachers (Bloch, 2009).

Accordingly, Moe (2001) posits that the aim of teacher unions is to enhance the quality of education. Various training workshops in South Africa, for example Outcomes Based Education (OBE) sessions, Revised National Curriculum Statements (RNCS) and the Annual National Assessments (ANA), were also conducted by SADTU and NAPTOSA for their members (Govender, 2004). The continued involvement of unions alongside the employer bodies during the development of policies in the ELRC is meant to highlight the interests and drive by unions to have better-quality employment conditions for teachers. Dave Balt (2008) stated that it is for this reason that teachers need to be protected from the employers’ sometimes unjust policies by the unions since they perform a crucial function in bringing about a strong culture of teaching and learning in schools Balt (2008) further asserts that as teachers continue to be undermined by society and paid less than other professions, it is time to ensure that the conditions under which they have to work are greatly improved to enhance the image of the profession. NAPTOSA, however, still maintains that if teachers and their unions aspire to be treated with respect as professionals, they have to maintain the same professionalism when negotiating for higher salaries and improved working conditions (Heystek and Lethoko, 2006)

In terms of NAPTOSA, professionalism means that learners’ rights have to be accorded a priority before those of teachers. Govender (2004) says it is however ironic that NAPTOSA and its members which mainly consists of advantaged teachers, embarked on industrial action in August 1999 and again in 2007, which was organized by SADTU for the adjustment of teachers’ salaries and other conditions of service. During the strike, learners were abandoned in classrooms despite NAPTOSA’s insistence on putting the rights of the child first (Govender, 2004; Zengele, 2013). In conclusion to this section, one is drawn to consider the extent to which professionalism is held in high esteem by NAPTOSA when resorting to strike action alongside SADTU that they supposedly detest for its militant and radical tactics.

One might question if unions have now become aware of how the employer takes the concerns of teachers seriously when there is a danger of militancy and havoc by its members. The question that arises is from the argument about appointments of some of the top officials of the DBE through ‘cadre deployment’ as enunciated by Pattillo’s (2012) study on ‘Quiet corruption in South Africa’. The status of the teaching profession and its integrity lies in the nature of appointments and promotions of such officials especially when such stakeholders are involved in decision-making structures at the ELRC and within the hierarchy of the DBE. It has, therefore, become doubtful whether the aspirations of teachers who are at grass roots level are well articulated by their representatives since these officials are deployed to the ELRC for extended periods of time, as earlier argued. The author also questions the academic and professional integrity of such politically connected individuals to hold high office and make important decisions.

One may also question who, between the DBE and teacher unions, is responsible for taking advantage of learners’ rights and thus compromising their right to be taught? SADTU is quoted by Heystek and Lethoko (2006: 227) as saying that ‘as soon as all the working conditions of teachers have been addressed, professionalism could then be a possibility’. Similarly, Zengele (2011) argues that SADTU has also contradicted itself by saying ‘…the day militancy stops so will SADTU existence stop’. SADTU continues to defend the militant and unprofessional standpoint of its members in the face of adversity and controversy. There could still be some justification for this militant attitude on grounds that the formerly privileged population in South Africa has not quite been subjected to similar inhumane conditions that black teachers have been exposed to. Such an argument may provide the supposition that NAPTOSA, which mainly consists of the previously advantaged communities in SA, seems to have acquired a more professional approach. Based on all the deliberations above, it becomes probable to begin engaging in debates around teacher unionism as appearing in the following section.

Debates on teacher unionism

Perhaps it is noteworthy to begin this section by reminding the reader that debates on teacher unionism are not new – they are as old as the profession itself. For the purposes of the historical aspect of this article this section therefore looks into debates from 1992 to 2015. Secondly, some of the debates relate to teacher unionism in South Africa which has been alluded to be almost similar to the USA situation as argued by Govender (2004) and Zengele (2011). Similarities include the nature of teacher unionism in both countries in the form of the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) which could be likened to NAPTOSA and SADTU respectively because of their membership and approach by their members.

Van der Westhuizen (1994) argues that relations between the employer and employees have a clear history of tension and animosity. There is further acknowledgement of conflict, suspicion and mistrust during all negotiations for improved working conditions with each party maintaining an uncompromising position (Van der Westhuizen, 1994). Govender (2004: 279) articulates it is a well-known fact that unions like SADTU have had to embark on industrial action on several occasions in order not to be seen ‘as a handmaiden of the state’ while risking the profile of its members as professionals. The engagement of SADTU in industrial action has been cited in several subsequent events to date since on several occasions it has also been characterised by violence and intimidation as reported by Fleisch (2009) and Zengele (2011). Vadi (1993: 87) also states that ‘this negative attitude by the DBE towards challenges faced by teachers has resulted in their harassment by the employer and scorn by the public’. Teacher unions are perpetually criticised for allowing their members to engage in strike action and abandon learners in the classroom (Bloch, 2009;Chuenyane, 2009: 1; Diko and Letseka, 2009; Pattillo, 2012; Taylor, 2011).

Hartshorne (1992: 297) observes that SADTU has emerged with new encounters that seem to threaten the supremacy of the DBE as the employer because of their immense power of inciting teachers to engage in labour action thus bringing teaching and learning to a standstill. Govender (2004) asserts that SADTU derives this power from the fact that the current ANC government has remained in power from 1994 to date through the power of the vote that has been cast by SADTU teachers among others as an alliance partner through COSATU, a labour federation. Fleisch (2009), Govender (2004) and Zengele (2013) further accentuate that SADTU has succeeded in disrupting schooling by maintaining an uncompromising stance during negotiations when the employer proposes deals that are unfavourable to the concerns of teachers. The apparent lack of commitment by the DBE to resolve petty and avoidable disputes and the time lost while teachers are on strike can be measured by their adamant standpoint as well during labour-related negotiations. It is a usual occurrence that agreements are reached after considerable damage has been caused by the strike action. This, in addition, brings more disrepute to the teaching profession, after it was earlier reported to be in tatters by Bloch (2009) among other writers. Ntshangase (2001: 53) argues that most journalists and conservative writers have struggled to identify the link between teacher union militancy and the actual conditions under which black teachers have to work. Sipho Masondo (2015) has also repeatedly reported on the sale of promotional posts in schools and collaboration in corrupt activities by DBE officials with SADTU officials over the sale of senior managerial positions. In a similar report, when the DBE Minister Angie Motshekga was questioned about proposed corrective action by the DBE there was a promise to conduct an investigation in 2014 which was reported in 2015 (Chuenyane, 2015: 1).

SADTU has a long history of fighting for equal rights and a democratic education system that does not discriminate against its citizens on grounds of race, gender and religion according to their magazine (Ntola, 2008). Under such circumstances, one may analyse such criticism concerning the lack of professionalism with extreme caution as the General Secretary of SADTU in Kwazulu-Natal, Dolly Caluza, and other SADTU officials have repeatedly denied any involvement by the union in acts of violence (Bauer, 2013: 1) . Masondo (2015: 6) and Saunders (2011) have also reported that teacher unions ‘…consist of false leadership which resorts to strike at the drop of a hat to the detriment of the education system’. One has to ponder SADTU’s role during the fight against apartheid which led to the introduction of the DBE.

Bascia and Osmond (2013) postulate that teacher unions have to know the concerns of teachers while at the same time ensuring that there is quality teaching and learning in schools. Peterson (2006) also argues that the unions should also ensure that both the rights of teachers and those of learners are safeguarded. Despite the type of teacher unionism in South Africa including the views and opinions by various writers and scholars, the origins of education provisioning in South Africa have to reflect the origins of militancy to give an objective view of teaching as a career and its terrain.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the question that needs to be posed is who will take care of the rights of learners while the fight for teachers’ rights continues? There is a need for learners to be taught and accorded the respect they deserve by the DBE, policymakers and unions to ascertain that the stumbling blocks that are stalling the wheels of transformation in education are removed. This equally goes for the removal of members of the teaching profession that are ill-disciplined and go to class ill-prepared thus compromising the integrity of the already compromised profession. This could be a challenge for stakeholders such as unions because their existence depends on problems affecting teachers. Their survival and existence also depends on teachers’ monthly subscriptions. To guarantee that this happens, communities are urged to provide support for the teachers who are entrusted with the responsibility of implementing policy programmes in the classroom. Teachers deserve to be accorded working conditions that are favourable towards effective teaching and learning. This could be accomplished by scrutinising the responsibilities and the composition of SGBs since they form the majority and are key members. At the same time, the public is urged to ensure that teachers indeed teach when they are supposed to teach, with diligence and complete commitment to the values of the teaching profession. The general perception that teachers are professionals and the perception by teachers that they are workers poses a challenge as to whether the real issues they face can be resolved, how and when. The resolution of current educational challenges requires all stakeholders to take the responsibility to review the past before placing judgement on the present and the future of teaching as a career. Only when consensus exists on the clarity about the past will the present status of teachers be ascertained. This includes the academic discourses on whether teachers are professionals or workers for the pedagogical good of all.

Footnotes

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author biography

Thulani Zengele is the Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Management at the University of South Africa. He has a doctorate in Educational Management. His interests include educational policy, management and teacher unionism. Thulani has been in education for the past 35 years as a Teacher, Departmental Head, School Principal, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Academic Coordinator for the Department of Educational Leadership and Management at Unisa.

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