EDUCATION
Call for urgent reopening of colleges for teachers
Public education has a severe shortage of teachers, with one teacher to about 30 pupils
The SA Council for Educators (SACE) and the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) are calling for the swift reopening of teachers’ training colleges to increase the supply of teachers in public schools. This comes as Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said her department would set a target to provide 65,500 bursaries for the education of teachers over the next five years through the Funza Lushaka bursary programme. Public education has a severe shortage of teachers, with one teacher to about 30 pupils, compared to 15 in the private sector. While both bodies welcomed state interventions to tackle staff shortages, they called for the reopening of colleges that were closed and converted into technical vocational training and education centres. The closing of teachers’ training colleges had had a negative effect on the profession, SACE spokesman Thembinkosi Ndhlovu said. SACE members felt that the colleges were better at equipping student teachers with practical knowledg...
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