The South African Public Service and Administration has announced it is delaying implementing a biometric absence-tracking system for teachers after the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) reacted with strike threats.
The fingerprint system, to be linked with other data systems such as the public service salary system, was introduced in Cape Town by Angie Motshekga, basic education minister of South Africa, in February.
Lindiwe Sisulu, minister of public service and administration, said the biometric system will not be implemented without consent of the union on Thursday, March 7, the South African Press Association (Sapa) reported.
This follows Sadtu’s warnings of education strikes to protest against the decision of activating the system because of a lack of trust in Motshekga’s leadership.
Sadtu’s complaint originates from claims of information misrepresentation in Motshekga’s unverified citing of teacher absences statistics.
“What she was indicating in the media was that the biometric test that she is proposing was piloted in the Northern Cape and it has worked in the Northern Cape and she was now suggesting it could go on to other provinces,” Sisulu told Sapa in defence of her fellow minister.
She confirmed that Motshekga will not have the final say on the employment of the system.
Sisulu continued: “Sadtu and ourselves have agreed to meet to discuss this matter and see how to resolve it and ensure that we are able to live up to the expectations of teachers, and that they will not go on strike.”
The fingerprint system was proposed to replace the current manual sign-in to regulate educators’ attendance, which is vulnerable to manipulation.
