Hubert Mweli, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) Director-General, agreed that teacher assistants should become a norm in the classroom. The Presidental Youth Employment Initiate (PYEI) received positive feedback from principals and district managers, which is why they requested for it to be permanent.
The department expressed the idea, of making the initiative permanent, to the National Treasury. The DBE hopes that the National Treasury will agree to the proposal.
It was pointed out that in private schools having teacher assistants in the classroom is a norm as well as at special needs schools. Therefore, the DBE believes that public schools should be awarded the same opportunity.
The PYEI was established to create employment opportunities for unemployed youth in the country within various government departments. To help the PYEI achieve its goal, the Basic Education Employment Initiative partnered with the DBE.
Jobs were created through the initiative while also reducing the high levels of unemployment amongst youth in South Africa. Approximately 280 000 young people received employment through the programme.
Individuals were placed in various schools across South Africa as education and general school assistants. To date, three phases of the programme have successfully taken place.
