South Africa recently celebrated Teachers' Month with a ceremony honouring its outstanding educators, emphasising the pivotal role teachers play in shaping the nation's future. While the ceremony celebrated the country’s best and brightest teachers, the profession could soon face challenges as half of all educators are set to leave the classroom over the next decade.
Despite resource constraints, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) introduced an effective resolution of teacher shortages that has shifted educators from mere "survival mode."
The Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme seeks to promote teaching as a profession to young people by offering comprehensive bursaries to individuals enrolled in teaching qualifications. Funding from Funza will cover Bachelor of Education (BEd) and Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) courses at all of South Africa’s 26 public universities in South Africa.
An important aspect of the Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme also seeks to place teaching graduates in schools after they complete their qualification. This ensures that individuals who receive the bursary not only receive comprehensive funding but are also likely to be employed shortly after they graduate.
Since its inception, the Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme has successfully trained and integrated new teachers into the education system.
From 2007, when bursary recipients completed their studies and became eligible for placement in 2008, up to the most recent data in 2023, a cumulative total of 52,099 teachers have completed their training through the program, demonstrating its success in bolstering the education sector with well-trained professionals.
How Many Funza Lushaka Graduates Have Been Placed
- Eastern Cape: Out of 6,608 trained teachers, 4,869 (74%) have been successfully placed.
- Free State: Of the 3,092 educators, 2,752 (89%) have found positions.
- Gauteng: With 9,423 trained teachers, 8,002 (85%) have been effectively integrated into schools.
- KwaZulu-Natal: Out of 9,012 trained educators, 6,908 (77%) have been placed.
- Limpopo: Boasting one of the highest placement rates at 94%, 4,347 out of 4,623 educators have been placed.
- Mpumalanga: Of the 4,006 teachers trained, 3,161 (79%) have been placed.
- North West: An impressive 96% placement rate is observed, with 2,436 out of 2,543 educators finding roles.
- Northern Cape: Another province with an excellent placement rate of 96%, where 1,115 out of 1,166 educators have been effectively placed.
- Western Cape: From 6,867 educators, 5,127 (75%) have been successfully placed.
Of the 47,340 educators trained over the past decade and seven months, 38,717 have been effectively placed within the educational system, representing an overall placement rate of 82%. While this is a significant achievement, it highlights the 8,623 educators still awaiting placement.
In other words, since 2013, approximately 81.78% of Funza Lushaka graduates have found placement in schools, equivalent to an average of around 4,300 graduates per year. These graduates make up a substantial portion of all educators absorbed into the public education system annually, underscoring the program's vital role in revitalising the teaching profession.
The financial commitment required for a program of this scale is substantial. Between 2007 and 2022, the total financial investment in the Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme across participating Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) amounts to an impressive R13 billion.
This expenditure should be viewed as an investment in South Africa's basic education system rather than a mere cost.
In 2023 alone more than R1 billion from the fiscus has funded 10,864 students across all HEIs, nurturing future educators who will play a pivotal role in the nation's education system.
Looking ahead to 2030, the South African education sector faces challenges related to an ageing teaching workforce and a growing student population.
To maintain the current learner-educator ratio and avoid larger class sizes, approximately 428,000 educators will be needed by 2030, requiring adequate funding for recruitment and retention.
The DBE says there's already a surplus of teacher graduates each year, with around 31,000 new graduates compared to the 18,000 to 20,000 absorbed into the public sector.
However, the solution isn't just about quantity; it also involves adapting bursary schemes to align with evolving curriculum needs, emphasising quality and specialisation in teacher training, especially in line with the Three Streams Model.
