International Teachers Day

Speech by Louis Green MP for the ACDP

Thursday, 04 October 2001

In Parliament yesterday, Mr. Louis Green, of the African Christian Democratic Party, and spokesperson for Education, gave the following speech:

The ACDP commends all hard-working, dedicated teachers on International Teachers day.

Teachers are the trained personnel providing a service to our society’s educational needs. Theirs is a vocation of great moral imperative and responsibility.
The need to address the inhospitable system in which they have to work is long overdue. Teacher morale in this country has undergone a negative shift over the last number of years. Many classrooms no more resembles a place of learning but of a power struggle between the learner and the educator.

A recent example is the incident where a teacher was literally hammered into subjection by an undisciplined pupil. The dutiful teacher relied simply on her own inner resources to survive, as the system within which she works could not protect her. Such a system perpetuates rather than provide discipline to the educational chaos

The Minister and his department has rescinded laws on corporal correction, yet we do not implement an alternative policy that either equals or better the repealed law. As a result, our schools have become centers of crime, drug abuse and sexual immorality.

The ACDP recommends a review of government’s policy on corporal correction. We advocate a change in definition from corporal punishment to corporal discipline, which include the need for punishment in the broader principle of applying discipline. We need to return to normalcy in our classrooms where both learners and educators should be encouraged to strive for excellence in education.

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For more information, please call Louis Green MP at 083 441 9295 or ACDP Media at 403 3938