There have been growing concerns expressed by the basic education sector stakeholders that South Africa may find itself with fewer teachers by 2030. This is a statistical sentiment echoed by the South African Council of Educators (SACE) which estimates that the country may lose 50 000 to 70 000 teachers to retirement.
However, during a virtual meeting, the Select Committee was briefed by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) on its 2021/22 Annual Report.
The DBE’s Deputy Minister, Reginah Mhaule stated that the department has progressively recruited more teachers each year as per its annual target.
According to the abovementioned annual report, 18 635 young qualified educators, aged 30 years and below were appointed during the 2020/2021 financial year.
Additionally, during the 2020–2021 financial year, 18 854 young qualified teachers who are 30 years of age or younger were appointed.
As part of its efforts to incentivise teaching as an attractive career path when choosing a career in tertiary studies, the government provides the Funza Lushaka Bursary to qualifying students aged 30 and below.
The DBE’s annual report also revealed 82% of Funza Lushaka graduates were placed in schools against the annual target of 85% during the 2020/2021 financial year.
However, that percentage was slightly lower in the following 2021/2022 fiscal as the report revealed that 76% of Funza Lushaka graduates were placed in schools against the annual target of 84%.
A total of 97% of post-level 1-3 educators were trained on the Quality Management System (QMS) by the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs), and 18 854 qualified educators under the age of 30 were appointed to posts in the PEDs, with 4 786 of those appointments being permanent, 10 864 being temporary, and 3 204 being substitute/relief appointments.
