BL Premium reports that the number of vacant teacher posts in SA’s state schools soared 28% in the past three years, from more than 24,000 in 2021 to more than 31,000 in 2024.

Responding to a parliamentary question from the DA, Department of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga told MPs that 31,462 teacher posts were unfilled, while in 2021 some 24,556 teacher posts had stood empty. Motshekga added that positions were filled on a continuing basis and schools were allowed to make temporary appointments while recruitment processes were under way. Her written reply shows there were 7,044 unfilled positions in KwaZulu-Natal, 6,111 in the Eastern Cape and 4,933 in Limpopo. Gauteng has 3,898 vacancies and the Western Cape has 4,497, with 1,931 in Mpumalanga, 1,205 in North West, 1,117 in Free State and 726 in the Northern Cape. The DA’s Baxolile Nodada said unfilled vacancies were just the tip of the iceberg as state schools lacked vital infrastructure. The government’s planned education reforms, set out in the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill now before parliament, would only worse education outcomes, said Nodada. Trade union Solidarity has objected to the bill’s proposals to transfer decision-making on language and admission policies from school governing bodies to government. While it is not opposed to making grade R compulsory, it is concerned about the lack of a plan to fund it.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
• Read Solidarity’s press statement on the BELA Bill at Politicsweb

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page