| 1. |
The Employment of Educators Act (EEA), 1998, has recently been amended by the insertion of Section 6B which provides for the conversion of the temporary appointments of educators into permanent appointments.
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| 2. |
A temporary educator is an educator who is currently appointed to an approved substantive vacant post level 1 post in a temporary capacity for a closed period. This definition does not apply to educators appointed to vacant substantive promotion posts in an acting capacity, or to substitutes, who are appointed in the place of (permanently employed) educators who are absent from duty for whatever reason.
Temporary educators who have retired from the service of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and those who took the Voluntary Severance Package (VSP) are also excluded from the measures contained in this circular.
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| 3. |
The conversion of the temporary appointment into a permanent appointment is at the discretion of the Head of Department of a provincial education department.
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| 4. |
In this regard it is very important to note that the WCED subscribes to the principle of open competition when it comes to the permanent filling of posts on its establishment and the establishments of institutions under its control. To this end, posts are regularly advertised in the national newspapers (in the case of office-based posts) and vacancy lists (in respect of posts at institutions as well as office-based posts).
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| 5. |
In consultation with the educator unions represented in the Provincial Education Labour Relations Council (PELRC), the WCED has decided on the following criteria for the conversion of the appointment status of temporary educators to permanent in terms of Section 6B of the EEA, 1998 with effect from 1 July 2006:
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| 5.1 |
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The permanent appointment must be made to a vacant substantive post level 1 post.
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| 5.2 |
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The educator must currently be temporarily in the employ of the WCED.
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| 5.3 |
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The educator must have rendered a service for a period of one year from the date of implementation of the amendment as stipulated in Section 6B. The one year period extends from 26 January 2005 until 26 January 2006 and may include breaks in service of not more than one month at a time.
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| 5.4 |
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The educator must
- be professionally qualified for the education profession;
- meet the inherent requirements of the post in which his/her conversion of appointment will be made; and
- be registered with SACE
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| 5.5 |
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The due date for the submission of applications is 31 July 2006.
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| 6. |
The permanent appointment must be supported by the school governing body.
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| 7. |
As this is an extraordinary arrangement for those educators who already occupy vacant substantive posts, the Employment Equity directives will not apply to these appointments.
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| 8. |
Temporary educators who want to apply for the conversion of their temporary employment to permanent employment in terms of Section 6B of the EEA, 1998, must submit a completed DPE 1 form (application for appointment form) and a letter of motivation and submit it to the WCED. Applications must be mailed to The Head: Education, Western Cape Education Department, Sub-Directorate: Personnel Provisioning (Educators), for attention: Mr NJ Bailey, Private Bag X 9114, Cape Town, 8000.
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| 9. |
The WCED will acknowledge receipt of the application and will thereafter refer the application to the governance structure for comments and/or a recommendation.
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| 10. |
The attention of interested parties is drawn to the fact that this offer to convert the temporary appointments of educators who are currently temporarily employed into permanent appointments is a once-off opportunity and that applications received after the due date will not be considered.
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| 11. |
In view of the fact that substitute educators do not occupy vacant substantive posts (but are appointed in the positions of permanently employed educators who are absent from duty or have been seconded), they may not be considered for permanent appointment in terms of the measures set out in this circular. Should a substitute educator, however, secure a temporary appointment in a vacant substantive post at a later stage, such educator may be considered for permanent appointment should he/she meet the criteria as set out in paragraph 5 of this circular.
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| 12. |
In the case of substitute educators, this measure will remain applicable until such time that the substitute educator secures a temporary appointment to a vacant substantive post, in which case the application for the conversion of the temporary appointment into a permanent appointment must be submitted within a period of three months from the date on which the temporary appointment commenced.
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| 13. |
It must be noted that those substitute educators mentioned in paragraphs 11 and 12 above and who qualify for the conversion of their temporary appointments to permanent appointments, must have been in the employ of the WCED at the time that this circular was issued and must comply with the criteria set out in paragraph 5 above.
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| 14. |
Principals are requested to ensure that this circular is brought to the attention of all educators on their staff, especially those appointed in a temporary and substitute capacity.
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| 15. |
This circular is applicable to public ordinary schools, special schools and FET institutions.
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| 16. |
The co-operation of everybody involved will ensure the successful management of this process and will be greatly appreciated.
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SIGNED: RB SWARTZ
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2006:06:16
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