As South Africa joins the planet in celebrating World Teachers’ Day on October 5, it’s important to remember to celebrate those who work so hard to educate young people in the country – but also to use the opportunity to draw more people to teaching as a career, in the face of an impending teacher shortage.
The Centre for Development and Enterprise predicts that South Africa will need 456 000 teachers by 2025 to offer quality education. Department of Basic Education statistics show that South Africa has 410 000 teachers in the public education system, across approximately 25 000 schools and responsible for teaching 12.9 million pupils.
That gap doesn’t sound insurmountable, considering that the country’s teacher training institutions produce around 15 000 new teachers each year – the problem is that, according to the 2019 Teaching and Learning International Survey, the average age of the South African teacher was 43 years and showed that 32% of teachers were aged 50 and above, meaning that almost half of the current teaching workforce will have to be replaced in the next decade. Add into the equation the face that 18 000 – 22 000 teachers leave the profession each year and the gap between supply and demand is heightened.
There is an oversupply of teachers in certain subjects, but a demonstrable lack of qualified candidates in essential STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) and the Foundation Phase.
Global Challenge
The 2023 global theme for World Teachers Day – ‘The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage’ – demonstrates that the shortage of teachers is not just a South African one. The aim is to put the importance of stopping the decline in the number of teachers – and then starting to increase that number -at the top of the global agenda. Through various activities, UNESCO advocates for a dignified and valued teaching profession, analyse their challenges, and showcase inspiring practices to attract, retain and motivate teachers and educators. It will also examine the ways in which education systems, societies, communities, and families recognise, appreciate, and actively support teachers.
MySchool MyVillage My Planet help support myriad educational initiatives – and recognises the work that needs to be done in boosting the teaching profession in South Africa, to improve both the availability and standard of education for our children.
Teaching the Teachers
South Africa has a shortage of qualified, passionate teachers and a rising wave of youth unemployment. Through our Dream2Teach Scholarship Fund, we give students the chance to reach their teaching dreams, while also fighting youth unemployment – turning a challenge into an opportunity to create positive change.
In partnership with St. Peter’s Foundation and the Realema Teacher Intern Programme, Dream2Teach gives young people who may not be able to afford the qualification (or the four years of studying required, having to work instead to earn an income) the chance to achieve their dream. The program and its partners offer each student a bursary to cover the costs of tuition and books; placement at recognised educational institutions; a peer-support network, mentoring & coaching and internship opportunities to top schools for work experience.
The primary goal is to nurture and cultivate motivated and professional teachers who will make a meaningful impact on the lives of children between the ages of 5 and 12. This focus on the Foundation Phase is vital, as it represents the last stage of Early Childhood Development (ECD), a stage recognized globally for providing the most substantial return on investment in education. The Fund
The Fund has supported 82 teacher bursary internships so far and aims to grow in the hope of creating a lasting and meaningful impact.
Infrastructure & Education
Impande’s mission is to catalyse investment in community driven, quality Early Childhood Development (ECD). They want to see a fair start in life for children aged 0-5 years in marginalised communities. MySchool is supplying funding for a special project in 2023 which will see 190 children and 30 female ECD practitioners directly benefit from improved access to safe and stimulating early learning and teaching spaces. Focussing on providing infrastructure support to ECD centres to targeted areas in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, funding from supporters’ card swipes will also help Impande in continuing to offer monthly learning groups for over 900 teachers to improve ECD program implementation.
