The CEO of the education rewards incentive programme School-Days, Paul Esterhuizen, has slammed the Basic Education Department for failing to fill a massive amount of teaching positions.
Minister Angie Motshekga recently revealed that in the last three years, vacancies have increased from around 24 000 to more than 31 000.
The department has issued an order allowing schools to hire temporary teachers.
Esterhuizen says parents must be concerned.
“We have an annual shortage of the number of teachers we’re producing, and I get it; we’re losing a number of retiring teachers who are exiting the profession. And on the other side of it as well, we also find that a number of our teachers are being attracted to go and teach overseas. So, we’ve got a number of reasons; teachers move provinces and you have an unfolding vacancy at a school, and the mandate to the school is yes, you can fill that with a temporary appointment because we need the teachers. We cannot have these numbers continue to escalate.”
Meanwhile, the National Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA) says government’s failure to stimulate the economy is partly to blame.
NAPTOSA’s executive director Basil Manuel says, “So, in terms of the quantum, we have it; just judging by the reports from the NRC in the provinces, there are approximately 8 000 posts where there may not be teachers, as opposed to the 31 to 32 000 that were mentioned. The others have, but they are temporary teachers, but that still constitutes a major problem because it talks to inefficiencies in the system. How does it happen that you have over 30 000 posts where you do not have permanent teachers.”
