Madam Chairperson, national Minister, Prof Asmal, special delegates from provinces and hon members, let me start right away by supporting the essence and principles of this Bill. We believe that it is going to maintain and protect the ethical and professional standards of educators in our schools. The teaching profession will be treated the same as other professions, like lawyers and doctors, because, when a lawyer transgresses the ethics of his or her profession or a medical doctor transgresses the ethics of his or her profession, he or she is struck off the roll.
In that way, this Bill is going to make it possible for the image of this profession to be raised. There has been a missing link between the Department of Education and the teachers' unions. The Department of Education plays the role of employer, and it is too administrative, while the teachers' unions look after the interests of the educators.
The SA Council of Educators will fill this gap by protecting the profession, by helping the members of this profession to look after the souls and to build the characters of the children by making them better members of the nation in the future. Those who belong to this profession will be carefully monitored and catered for. They must be good models of acceptable moral values which learners can emulate.
We support this Bill with the following issues of concern and comments. Firstly, to whom is the SA Council of Educators accountable? Is it to the educators or to the Minister? The unions argue that the origin of the council is the Central Bargaining Chamber, therefore it is accountable to them. The Minister says it is a body for professionals who are teachers. It goes without saying therefore that the Minister is directly responsible, since it deals with the issues of character, conduct and maintenance of professionalism.
The second concern is the responsibility of the funding of the council? Should it rely on the levy from the educators? What should be the role and contribution of the state with regard to the funding of the council? It is a question of: You put your money where your mouth is. Or is it not what we are going to get from the educators?
The other concern is the issue of the chairpersonship of the council, which is still debatable. The Minister maintains that he should be responsible for the appointment of the chairperson of the council, and the unions are opposed to that. What criteria will be used in the nomination of the three names for the chairpersonship?
With regard to the composition of the council, it will be educators collectively nominated by the organised profession. How is that going to be done? Will it be that two educators will be nominated per province, or is it going to be a random selection or nomination?
Regarding registration of all educators, this is, in fact, licensing of teachers, meaning that an educator who is not registered with the council cannot be allowed to teach in South Africa. The registration of educators in the independent schools also needs to be considered. One wonders how private or independent schools will come out with one person. Is it a national body that co-ordinates these schools?
Another concern is the professional outlook versus chamber activities. A clear line of distinction is important between the two. Otherwise, it may create a serious problem. The institutions are separate with different roles.
The next one is the relationship between the department and the council, in respect of disciplinary measures against members of the council. Is the department obliged to report disciplinary cases it handles and give a verdict to the council and vice versa? What role is the council expected to play when a particular educator is, for instance, suspended or discharged by a provincial department? How are the two going to interact, co-ordinate, or complement each other? [Applause.]