Johannesburg - Pupils in several Joburg schools wrote the Annual National Assessments (ANAs) on Thursday, in spite of the threats by teacher unions that they would not administer the tests, the Department of Basic Education said.
Spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said the department visited many schools on Thursday and found that the institutions were administering the tests.
“We aren't aware of any resistance except for the statements made by teacher union leaders,” he said.
However, teachers' unions denied that pupils had sat for the exams.
Professional Educators' Union president Malose Kutumela said that as far as the union knew, its members had boycotted the ANAs.
“We have not given them (teachers) permission. There might be some schools that administered the exams but I do not have any such report with me,” he said.
Kutumela said the department reneged on its undertaking to find an amicable solution through mediation.
“They have broken the mediation because they are not communicating with us properly.”
Deputy president of the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa Anthea Cereseto echoed Kutumela’s views, saying she was not aware of any schools that had written the ANAs.
“In some schools, you might find that principals have intimidated teachers into administering the exams or people giving reports just to please the department.”
She added the ANAs were neither credible nor did they serve any purpose.
“They aren't appropriate and are a waste of the taxpayers' money. We should be using that money to buy our children books. If there are any schools that want to participate in the ANAs, they should do so at the end of the first term next year.”
The South African Teachers' Union spokesman Ted Townsend said there were confusing messages around the ANAs in various provinces.
“The developing situation differs from province to province and uniform advice can, therefore, not be given. For example, in certain provinces the directive given by the Provincial Department of Education is that the ANAs should be written on a specific date while other provinces' schools have not been informed of a date.
“Principals and school communities will have to take province-specific circumstances into account when making a decision to take part in the assessments,” he said.
Perhaps some principals were intimidated
The Star
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