Thousands of Zimbabwean teachers who hold exemption permits may be forced to return to their home country if they fail to secure a visa before the end of the year.
The teachers, many of whom have been teaching at low-fee paying private schools for years, were allowed to work in the country because they had valid documents.
But home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced at the end of last year that extensions to the permits would not be granted and the affected Zimbabwean nationals would be allowed until the end of this year to get visas.
He said 178,412 Zimbabwean nationals had been granted exemption permits.
They now have to apply for a visitor’s visa or a business, relative’s, spousal, critical skills work or general work visa.
But Zimbabwean teachers holding exemption permits told Sunday Times Daily that their chances of getting a visa were slim because their employers had to prove to the department of labour why South Africans with the same qualifications could not be appointed to the post.
Thembi Moyo, 36, a teacher at CityKidz, an inner-city school in Johannesburg, said: “I don’t believe my chances of getting a visa are good. They [the department of labour] will need proof that no one locally can fill the position.”
Teacher shortages will be worsened if permits are not renewed. The thought of having to replace my skilled, professional, passionate and competent teachers with new, often inexperienced staff is just too difficult to comprehend.
— Principal of CityKidz Sharon Reynolds
There are 12 Zimbabweans, including Moyo, at the school who have either exemption permits, special permits or asylum documents.
Moyo, who has been teaching at the school for nine years, said SA was her second home, adding: “We have a lot of parents who are happy with the Zimbabwean teachers.”
Her colleague, Pretty Ndlovu, 53, who teaches English to grade five pupils, said she did not know how she would manage financially if she was forced to return to Zimbabwe.
“Our country is not financially stable. I am a widow and if I go back, where will I start from? How will I survive?”
“I don’t blame the South African government. Maybe they are running out of resources but they think we, as foreigners, are grabbing up the jobs of locals.”
She said she was forced to flee Zimbabwe in 2007 and seek asylum in SA after she was accused of being a supporter of the opposition MDC party.
“Somebody confused me with someone who was an MDC activist. I was never part of that.”
The principal of CityKidz, Sharon Reynolds, said 15 of the 47 staff members were foreign teachers, including 12 Zimbabweans.
“Teacher shortages will be worsened if permits are not renewed. The thought of having to replace my skilled, professional, passionate and competent teachers with new, often inexperienced staff is just too difficult to comprehend.”
She said her school employed more South Africans than foreigners “but the impact of teacher turnover is especially acute with South African teachers”.
“There are shortages of experienced, well qualified South African teachers willing to work in an inner-city school.”
Reynolds said the foreign-born teachers had been loyal, committed and dedicated to the school.
Her school, which has 857 pupils, faced “the dire prospect of an abrupt cut to our pupil client base as 24% are foreign nationals”.
“A high proportion of them will have to leave SA if their parents leave. This will have a direct impact on our investment as a business and the education of these children, many of whom were born in SA,” Reynolds said.
Mlalazi Sethulo, principal of Phoenix College in Johannesburg, said its more than a dozen Zimbabwean teachers with exemption permits were “quite worried about their situation”.
“It is going to be a mammoth task replacing the Zimbabwean teachers if they leave.”
Christopher Ndlovu, assistant academic head at Basa Tutorial Institute in Johannesburg, said a number of Zimbabwean teachers with exemption permits were employed at its five branches.
Mandla Mthembu, chair of the National Alliance of Independent Schools’ Associations (Naisa), said Zimbabwean teachers were “very concerned” because they would have to apply for a work visa to continue working in SA.
“The main concern is that work visas are issued to foreigners only when South African citizens with the relevant skills are not available for appointment.”
He said Naisa anticipated that most Zimbabwean teachers would return home before the end of the year to apply for a work visa through the SA Embassy in Zimbabwe to avoid being labelled “illegal” after December 31.
“The biggest challenge faced by independent schools is that they will probably find it hard to get local teachers who have the same level of skills and content knowledge as the Zimbabweans and who are willing to earn lower salaries.”
Naisa was urging home affairs to consider granting all legally employed Zimbabwean teachers a work visa before the end of the year.
In December, the North West and Limpopo education departments did not renew the contracts of 465 foreign teachers who were employed at public schools.
Motsoaledi’s spokesperson, Siya Qoza, told Sunday Times Daily that 3,223 applications for visas had been received from Zimbabwean nationals who had exemption permits.
“The department cannot speculate on the outcome of applications for the general work visa and critical skills work visa.”
He said a special team had been established to assist in the adjudication of applications “with a view to expediting the process”.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.