Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) teachers voiced their concerns to Mirror last week, stating that they were tired of getting paid late every month by the Department of Education in Vhembe. Other teachers claim that the department owes them money as they did not receive their salary in November last year.

Teachers who visited Mirror’s offices for assistance said that they were fed-up with the bad treatment they were getting from the Vhembe Department of Education. “Apart from the fact that we were not paid in November last year, we are tired of receiving our cheques very late every month,” they said.

They further expressed that, just like other teachers in the district, they were fully qualified, with teaching diplomas and degrees, but the treatment they were getting from the department was very bad. “We are tired of being treated unfairly by the department. When we lodged our com-plaints with Mr Lovers Masia, who is the head of ABET in Vhembe, he shouted at us as if he owned the department. He even told us that he knew that some of us were trying to report him to the media. The man is rude and unfit for the job,” they argued.

One of the educators, who wished to remain anonymous, said “Being an ABET educator in Vhembe is a disaster. Like other teachers we have families to take care of. Why are we not taken seriously? Apart from not getting paid in time, we sometimes are not given cheques at all and we are tired of this. The Limpopo Department of Education must do something about this.”

She further complained that, unlike other teachers and government officials, they were not entitled to receive compensation if they sleep out while at-tending workshops. “It takes a whole year before we receive our money. We went to a workshop last year in July, but we are still waiting for the money. This is very unfair and something must be done,” she said.

The spokesman for the Department of Education in Limpopo, Mr Ndo Mangala, said that it was not a policy of the department to pay ABET educators late. “What I know is that, as soon as these people fill in their claim forms, they are supposed to receive their cheques,” he said.

He said there is no way that an educator can work and not get paid, but if the educators are saying they were not paid in November last year, then it was worth investigating. “It is not supposed to have happened in that way. If this is true, then somebody is not doing his or her job. We are going to investigate the matter,” he promised.

Attempts to reach the head of ABET in Vhembe, Mr Lovers Masia, were unsuccessful.

When contacted for comment, the senior manager of education in Vhembe, Dr Nthambeleni Rambiyana, said he was not aware of the problem and that he would investigate the matter. “What I know is that all ABET educators are expected to fill in claim forms before they can get paid, but I was not aware that there were some educators who were not paid in November last year. I will have to investigate that, if they are saying so,” said Rambiyana.

Rambiyana confirmed that some educators were not paid for January as their claims were submitted late. “I will prefer that, next time when educators are having problems, they must come to my office and report it. I won´t know about their problems unless they come and report to me. My office is always open for them” (educators), he said. He also warned educators that, should they submit their claims late, they delay the payment process.