Debt trap affects quality of education

By Sinegugu Ndlovu

Teachers have emerged as some of the worst casualties of the present economic downturn, with hundreds seeing counsellors as they struggle to pay mounting debts.

This is according to teachers' unions and debt counsellors, who said debt was affecting the quality of education as frightened teachers stayed away from work, fleeing lawyers, creditors and debt collectors.

The debt trap was attributed to teachers living beyond their means, having several insurance policies and banks finding it easier to obtain garnishee orders on public servants. Last year's two-month public servant strike, which led to teachers' salaries being docked, was also a significant factor.

Vryheid debt counsellor Ray Williams said he received, on average, seven desperate debt-ridden teachers a day seeking help.

Williams said many avoided work around pay day, because they feared debt collectors. "They don't go to work, they run and hide. This situation settles around the tenth of the month but the vicious cycle starts again soon after," he said.

Williams said there were only 35 registered debt counsellors in KZN, located in nine towns and cities. About half were in Durban. This was concerning, considering that KZN was the biggest province.

"It's not just about too much debt, it's also about debt that's so inflated. I have received 4 000 e-mails in the past three months and about 250 started with, 'I want to commit suicide.'"

Another KZN debt counsellor, said that about 80 percent of KZN government employees had loans from micro-lenders and banks. "As soon as banks realise that it's a government employee (applying for a loan) they'll attack, because they know how easy it is to get a garnishee order against them," he said.

National Teachers' Union spokesperson Allen Thompson said 5 percent of their members were in "serious" debt, and the union was liaising with the National Register of Labour to establish a service to help indebted members.

"Many teachers are opting for early retirement, believing that they can start over. Some want to get this money (retirement benefits) to settle their debts. Teachers can't live in government-subsidised houses or receive government grants. The majority are paid R5 000 to R6 000 a month and have to pay bonds, rates and live far from home. That's why cars like Tata have been branded "amandla kathisha" (what a teacher can afford). Many are blacklisted and therefore opt for loan sharks."

South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) provincial secretary, Sipho Nkosi, said the biggest problem his members faced was garnishee orders. He said only a few members out of 48 636 in KZN did not have orders against them.

"The last Sadtu conference resolved that we must meet with the education department to implement legal garnishee orders and to investigate corrupt officials within the department working with corrupt lawyers. Dubious garnishee orders are a real problem, and we have made a call that all garnishee orders be investigated," he said.

Anthony Pierce, spokesperson for the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa, said teachers were not paid well but also incurred too much debt and that their low salaries played a big role in their debts.

• This article was originally published on page 1 of The Mercury on November 18, 2008