Pretoria - Except for minor concerns from the State of the National Address delivered by President Jacob Zuma, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) has welcomed government's commitment to education.
"Although the President didn't dwell much on education as he did in 2010, we are heartened by the fact that education continues to be one of the main five priorities.
"We welcome this year's basic education's focus on the Triple T: Teachers, Textbooks and Time. However, the quality of education will depend on the investment the government is prepared to make in the inputs, process and projected outcomes of education," said SADTU General Secretary Mugwena Maluleke.
In his third State of the Nation Address on Thursday evening, Zuma said government will this year focus on the three "Ts" - teachers, textbooks and time.
He said government will continue investing in teacher training, especially in mathematics and science. "We will pay special attention to the training of principals, particularly those in underperforming schools," Zuma said.
Maluleke said SADTU views Triple T as the further strengthening of the Quality Learning and Teaching campaign, which the union is already committed to.
However, he said the union feels the Triple T lacks one important element, the development of management at district level.
"The district managers are the ones responsible for the distribution of workbooks and learner materials to schools on time, if they are not trained and developed, the system suffers."
SADTU also voiced its disappointment by the President's silence on the re-opening of Teacher Training Colleges, following SADTU's repeated calls for the opening of the colleges to assist towards the alleviation of teacher shortages.
"The ANC's National General Council also resolved to have these colleges reopened. Training at universities through the Funda Lushaka programme will never close the gap.
"However, SADTU plans to open its own Teacher Development Institute to train and develop teachers that are at an advanced stage," Maluleke said.
Although SADTU is concerned about the process of the Annual National Assessments, the union also welcomed the implementation of the assessments.
To track progress, this year, government began the annual national assessments in literacy and numeracy that are internationally benchmarked for Grades 3, 6 and 9.
Zuma said government will expand access, especially to children of the poor. "This includes the conversion of loans into bursaries for qualifying final year students. Students in Further Education and Training Colleges, who qualify for financial aid, will be exempted from paying fees," said the President.
