Felicia Mashele
Qualified but unemployed South African teachers have questioned the initiation and the employment criteria used to hire education assistants (EA).
According to unemployed teachers, the implementation of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) in the Basic Education sector is a clear indication that there is a demand for teachers in our country.
They have called on the government to hire only unemployed teachers as EAs at reasonable pay.
Last year, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga stated that there were 24 000 vacant teacher posts in South Africa. However, the unemployment report of educators showed that there are thousands of unemployed qualified teachers currently sitting at home.
The Unemployed Educators Movement of South Africa reported 3 000 unemployed teachers in their system for the year 2022.
PYEI was implemented as the Basic Education Employment Initiative across all nine provinces in the reduction of youth unemployment in the country.
In the context of the Basic Education sector, the initiative’s objective was to ensure that teachers were supported in the classrooms by way of maintaining discipline and preparing classes for lessons.
The R4.5 billion initiative was planned for a four-month contract and was officially implemented from December 1, 2020 up to date. It was divided into different phases, with each phase hiring a different group of youth.
Qualified unemployed teacher from Wits, Silence Modika said: “The number of unemployed qualified teachers is the reason why I don't understand this whole education assistance programme. If schools hired enough teachers, there would not be a need for assistance teachers to begin with.
“It’s even unfair that this programme hires just anyone who had passed Grade 12, whereas first preference should be given to qualified teachers, at a reasonable stipend.”
A teacher at Mawa circuit in Limpopo, Nurse Moagi said hiring anyone as an EA was advantageous to those in serious need of financial aid. However, it would be a disadvantage to the learners they assist at schools because of lack of experience in managing and meeting the basic needs of learners.
“ PYEI is a good initiative because it reduces unemployment. I wish it could be something permanent. provided people hired are given proper training. As a teacher, I cannot present lessons in a classroom and also do administrative work; hence I am saying we do need to have EAs permanently.
“I think qualified teachers must be done justice and be hired as teachers, not assistants, because they went to varsity to become teachers,” she said.
Spokesperson for the Department of Basic Education Elijah Mhlanga said The Presidential Youth Employment Initiative was a project of the Presidency, the Department of Basic Education an implementing agency.
He said the initiative was open to all persons who met the criteria and this includes age and qualifications, especially for EAs, but not GAs.
“The challenge is that for the 250,000 spaces (both EAs and GAs) there were about 1 million applications.
“Changing the criteria will do two things: Condemns those without qualifications to more poverty with no chance of an honest income and will not make much of a difference because the demand is higher than the spaces available. Presidency were attempting to obtain a balance in terms of the youth in need of opportunities,” he said.