Teachers marking matric exams tell of toilet shame as taps run dry

Teachers marking matric papers in Ulundi told on Sunday of the shame of using the bush as toilets as they battled without running water and proper toilets.

 Now the marking of the papers at the James Nxumalo Agricultural High School has been compromised because of water shortages and alleged poor working conditions.

READ MORE: Anxious wait for matrics
The 460 teachers marking papers downed their pens on Sunday morning after complaining to the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department. Teachers said they were working under bad conditions since they started marking papers on Monday.

This could potentially have disastrous consequences for the marking process in Ulundi, they told News24.


But the Department of Education in KZN moved to allay fears, closing the marking centre and moving it to Durban. KZN teacher Zakhele Zulu said they have been in dire need of water for two days. He said the conditions were so bad that woman teachers were using the bush nearby as a toilet.

"We can’t work as professionals under these conditions. We decided to tell our unions to come and witness these conditions. It’s disgusting here. The female educators can’t even use the toilets because of the stench. We are forced to use the bush as our toilet, it was just awful," Zulu told News24.

Zulu said the workers were demanding to be moved to another marking centre, but the Department of Education seemed reluctant.

"South African Democratic Teachers Union [Sadtu] is working to get us moved. We can’t stay here and we refuse to work, if they do not move us," he said.