News24 reports that funding has been made available for more than 470 teacher posts in new and growing schools in the Western Cape.

Education MEC David Maynier announced on Wednesday that the 477 teachers would be appointed in "growth posts". "It's a new teaching post added to accommodate additional learners, for example in a new classroom we have added," he explained. The province has been grappling with the loss of around 2,400 teacher posts due to budget cuts from National Treasury. The 477 new appointments come amid the construction of nine new schools and 265 classrooms as part of the department's Rapid School Build Programme. Of the buildings under construction, six new schools and 180 classrooms will be ready this month, while three new schools and 85 additional classrooms will be completed in March. According to Maynier, the province has been "hard hit by budget cuts". He indicated: "We've had to reduce the total number of posts in our schools, and that has made a difficult situation even more difficult. The growth posts will be used in the first instance in our new schools, but they will also be allocated to schools that are absorbing significant numbers of additional learners." Maynier stressed that the new appointments were a "separate process" to the reduction of posts across the province.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24 (subscription or trial registration required)

Read too, Western Cape schools to receive 477 new teachers despite cuts, at Cape Argus

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