I am furious! Until recently, polotics has not been my thing but now I am back! I just logged on, got my email and did my things with the emails. I planned to spend about 15 minutes here and when I finished doing all of my responding and filing, (without reading a single .NET article ), I had five minutes to spare. So why not just go read the newspaper soon as I have been focusing so much on my studies? The first head line that I came across was:

Strike threat could wreck matric exams
The country's [South Africa's] top education official has warned that a full-blown public service strike would have "a very detrimental effect" on matric examinations next month.

Here is my deal on the thing. Teachers are rewarded as per their performance. If their students get their matric (a high-school pass) and maybe excellent set of results (such as getting a exemption -- to qualify for university), they will get rewarded. Getting an average of a 2% raise for each year (taking that if you are a good teacher) is way above the inflation rate and interest “mount-on” rate. In fact, all we are seeing now is the interest rate is alternating between drops and staying the same. Yes, maybe the start-off salary should be a little higher. However, if you do not perform as a teacher, you cannot expect a raise to be issued. In fact, if you don't get a raise for five years in a row, it would be the ideal time to hop onto a new carreer path -- you are not passing on knowledge to the students.

With that said, do I think, in general, teachers' pay is suitable? Definitely. But now, I am sick and tired of the “vast-majority” (to be politically correct) blame all their “misfortunes” onto the government and apartheid (for those whom do not know South Africa's history, it officially ended about a decade ago and it is basically is like dictatorship government where “whites” were supreme). For the last year, we have been proclaiming for a decade of a democratic government. Let's break the word democratic by dictionary definition:

Pertaining to democracy; favoring democracy, or constructed upon the principle of government by the people.

We, from the above quotation, are the “people”, right? So are the “vast-majority” group placing burdens on the rest of the people... not the “government”. The founding for this is “guilty”. And here is what arrogrance I found in the newspaper:

On the potential negative effect on matric exams, Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said yesterday: "Clearly this is something we would want to avoid, but the responsibility for any harm done must be placed firmly at the door of government."

Listen pal! You had your way with the Durban Metro Solid Waste where you polluted the entire Durban region and the threat of disease was close... actually, a shave! I will not bow down to you -- are you saying that I must forfeit all the effort and hard work so you can get the non-performing teachers to teach.

Here is the deal that I had from personal experience -- if the teacher can't teach, he/she is useless and redundant... just like any other office worker. I refuse, as a year-away taxpayer, to pay for the non-peforming teachers and for you to try and jeopodize my future. If your threat becomes the reality in a month, I have effectively wasted:

• Two years of my life. (The year that has to be made to “catch-up” and the year that I have to sit again)
• Four years of maximum potential pay. (The two years wasted for school plus the two years to catch-up in contrast of what should be the ideal timeline). 

Sure, I said that I will be moving onto my own company at the end of this year. In fact, I will meet that commitment and goal that I have set -- I have already started initializing the deals so on day one, I am busy. If you jeopodize that, my 'friend', are you going to be prepared to pay the lost billion+ rands (local currency) that the economy will lose because of your actions? All you have to do is hold your negotations during December where no scholar will be affected... we have worked hard for our matric. And I don't want to hear the “eish! I do na know. I don t hav a matric. I do n't know how will affect you.”