Professor Mbulu Madiba, Dean of the Faculty of Education at Stellenbosch University, has issued a stark warning regarding the future of education in South Africa, drawing attention to the UNESCO Global Teachers Report.
He warned that in accordance with a recent report from South Africa’s Ministry of Education’s research and planning division, by 2030, nearly 40% of South African teachers would be eligible for retirement, exacerbating the ongoing teacher shortage.
Madiba emphasized that the shortage is driven by a combination of factors, including ageing teachers, low recruitment rates, teacher resignations, and migration.
“The UNESCO global report has highlighted a looming crisis in teacher supply and demand across the world, with dire consequences for education systems in developing regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa.”
He highlighted the severe consequences this could have, such as larger class sizes, reduced educational quality, and economic repercussions that would hinder the country’s development.
“The UNESCO report serves as a wake-up call for policymakers in South Africa.
“A proactive approach to teacher recruitment, training, and retention is essential to avoid a full-blown education crisis.
“By implementing targeted interventions, governments can ensure that all students receive quality education, laying the foundation for sustainable development in the region.”
The global report on teachers, produced by UNESCO and the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, highlights an alarming shortage of teachers across the globe, with an urgent need for 44 million primary and secondary teachers by 2030.
The shortage is particularly severe in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, where 15 million new teachers are needed.
However, this issue extends beyond developing countries, impacting even high-income regions like Europe and North America, which also struggle with teacher retention and recruitment.
Elijah Mhlanga, spokesperson for the Department of Basic Education in South Africa, sheds light on the situation in the country.
“South Africa doesn’t have a shortage of teachers. The higher education sector produces more teachers than the basic education can employ.
“On average we lose 10,000 teachers a year for various reasons including retirement, change of career, death, medical conditions, resignations etc but each year there are more than 30,000 students who graduate after obtaining degrees in teaching.
“Now, with that said the real issue is the availability of funds to employ teachers where there is a need.”
Mhlanga said the department of Basic Education gets an allocation from the National Treasury just like all other departments.
“The financial constraints in the sector are well-known and these require the whole government to consider the funding model for education.
“We have already made a case for additional funding to the sector and we await feedback but we are fully aware that the economy of the country is not performing which has an impact on public spending.
“The infrastructure challenges are more complex than just funding. The Department invested billions building schools in the last decade only for people to migrate and leave those new schools unoccupied.
“That means there is an uneven supply of learners of you considered rural and urban areas. That is not an education issue but one that requires an all-government approach.”
He said in summary the sector has no challenges when it comes to teacher supply and added that they are still continuing to provide bursaries through the Funza Lushaka scheme and through NSFAS and self-funded students.
In the Western Cape, Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson for the provincial education department, also shared an optimistic outlook.
“Our Department started to focus on employing younger teachers as far back as 2013 and the trend is showing that the situation regarding teacher retirements is not as serious in the Western Cape. Over half of our teachers are below the age of 50.
“Around 1 500 education students graduate from universities in our province each year, so we have a solid supply of new teachers available in the Western Cape.
“We do however have cases where schools struggle to attract candidates for a specialised subject, such as Mathematics or Physical Science.
“We accordingly engage with universities as to what the areas of specialisation are where we have a need for teachers to advocate for students to select these.”