By Hendrick Makaneta
I support Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga’s planned hiring of 300 000 staff in the new academic year. The move will go a long way towards bring about stability in education and reduce teachers’ workload. It is encouraging that of the 300 000 new staff, 200 000 will be teacher assistants.
For many years, teachers have been complaining about workload and disruptions in class. The minister should just emphasise that teacher assistants are not there to replace teachers, but to enhance the work of teachers by offering the necessary support.
But the injection of new staff is a step in the right direction. It is in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for government to reduce unemployment in the country and it is something that should be celebrated by all South Africans since unemployment remains one of the triple challenges faced by the country, along with poverty and inequality.
There is no doubt that by hiring 300 000 new staff, Motshekga is registering progress in line with the commitment to create jobs, made at the Presidential Jobs Summit in October 2018. At the same time, it should be noted that the government alone will not be able to reduce unemployment. The private sector and other social partners should also come on board and assist the government.
Despite the difficult period faced by the department, it was able to navigate the Covid-19 terrain and responded positively to ensure that learners were reduced in the classroom, something that, as activists, we should be proud of. It is also encouraging that South Africa continues to register an improvement, as evidenced by the 2019 assessment by the trends in international maths and science studies.
It should also be noted that more than a million learners wrote the National Senior Certificate. This number shows that more and more learners take their schooling seriously. The arrival of teacher assistants will help to ensure that the rate of learner retention increases.
Hendrick Makaneta is an education activist.
The Star