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Picture Courtesy: (Twitter Shared via X @DA) SADTU raises concerns regarding the appointment of DA’s Siviwe Gwarube as minister of Basic Education.
(The Post News)- The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) has raised concerns regarding the Ministry of Basic Education being headed by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
This comes after the country witnessed the president, Cyril Ramaphosa, announce the cabinet of the 7th administration, which contains 32 ministers and 43 deputy ministers who make up the National Government of Unity (GNU) and represent 11 political parties.
The DA Member of Parliament (MP), Siviwe Gwarube, was appointed as the new Minister of Basic Education, replacing Angie Motshekga of the African National Congress, who has held the Basic Education ministry position for over a decade.
SADTU has conveyed that it is concerned about the educational policies of the DA and their possible negative effects on the educational services sector.
Speaking on a podcast on SAfm, SADTU spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said that the DA and SADTU had never had a good relationship because of the DA’s “anti-trade union” stance and because the DA has stated in the past that it is against the existence of trade unions.
Cembi claimed that the DA has blamed SADTU for the challenges that the education sector has come across.
She also claimed that the DA has consistently accused SADTU of a lot of things, such as being against education in South Africa, running the Department of Education, and even controlling the ministers.
According to Cembi, SADTU maintained that its existence is solely to protect its members and to make sure that there is quality public education for all, and they know that the DA will be gunning for them, as it has maintained that SADTU is not the solution but the problem in education.
She said that the president is aware of the history between them and the DA, and they do not have the power to tell the president who to appoint as the minister of education.
Cembi criticised the DA, stating their education policies focus on policing rather than transformation and accusing them of wanting to impose apartheid-era practices in education.
She emphasised SADTU’s importance as a key education stakeholder and stressed that the newly appointed minister must respect the union, as it is legally recognised.
Cembi expressed willingness for SADTU to engage constructively with the minister using the existing channels used to communicate with the union.
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