Teachers’ Challenge of Using Own Expenses to Do the Employer’s Job in Selected Schools Located in Tshwane West District, Gauteng.

Abstract

Generally, it is expected in any employment that the employer would supply all employees with all the necessary materials and knowledge resources to do their jobs. In the light of this expectation schools are allocated grants according to Norms and Standards for Funding ring-fenced for operations, and also receive learning and teaching support materials (LTSM) in terms of the National Policy earmarked for use in the classrooms for different subjects. Despite the allocation and supply of LTSM, many teachers still use their own expenses to execute their fiduciary duties in the classroom even though the Norms and Standards for Funding and LTSM policy mandates schools to take care of the LTSM items meant for use by teachers in the classroom. The purpose of this paper is to investigate teachers’ use of their own expenses to teach in the classroom. Data was drawn through the use of qualitative approaches from selected ten teachers (n=12) employed in schools categorised as quintile one to three. The findings reveal that most teachers use their own money to buy certain materials necessary for teaching in the classroom. I concluded that school budgets which are mandated to cater for LTSM should honour the allocation by buying enough LTSM covering the whole year.