MEC drops EC teacher shortage bombshell

Filling 6 808 posts just like chasing a moving target, says Makupula

EASTERN Cape education MEC Mandla Makupula this week dropped a bombshell at the Bhisho legislature when he revealed that there was a shortage of 6 808 teachers in the province.

Makupula was replying to a question posed by the DA’s Edmund van Vuuren for oral reply.

Makupula also told the legislature sitting on Wednesday that the department had since re-appointed 1 755 teachers on a temporary basis in January after releasing them a month before. Makupula said attempts to fill vacant teaching posts in the province were proving to be an unending headache. The department was “chasing a moving target”, he said.

However, he added that the department had prioritised the filling of critical posts such as in mathematics, science, accounting and languages.

“The department is busy filling these posts through the placement of additional educators,” said Makupula.

To this end, the department had identified 2 782 additional teachers.

Of this number, only 1 072 had already been placed at various schools across the province.

According to Makupula, the department had also decided to make a Uturn on the teachers employed on a temporary basis, whose contracts were terminated in December.

About 1 755 of them had since been reappointed as of January, albeit on a temporary basis.

Makupula said the department was doing its best to minimise the number of vacant teaching posts.

Among other interventions, was the placement of Funza Lushaka bursaryholders at some of the schools.

In this instance, 273 of those beneficiaries in the province had been placed by the end of last month.

Van Vuuren was not entirely pleased with Makupula’s reply, in particular on the point of additional teachers.

“I understand we are chasing a moving target but my concern is that we still have such a big number of additional teachers within our system and the question still is how are your 1 700 additional teacher optimally utilised within the system,” Van Vuuren said. Makupula said the department also faced a challenge of teachers whose qualifications are not needed in the system.

“We have placed before teachers the following offers: firstly we take you back to university for retraining [in scarce subjects] or secondly we offer you office-based opportunities where you must apply and a number of other opportunities such as being in IT for those prepared to be reskilled,” he said. —