Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said the education department is not responsible for the determination of salary increases for teachers. This comes after the minister was asked what is being done to combat the employment of fewer graduates for financial reasons.
Member of the National Assembly Siphosethu Ngcobo asked Motshekga what is being done to address the employment of fewer graduates to curb teacher salaries that increase at a faster rate than the budget of her department.
Motshekga explained that salary increase determinations are made through a centralised negotiation process. The Public Sector Coordination Bargaining Council (PSCBC) represents public service workers while the Department of Public Service and Administration leads negotiations on behalf of the government.
Teacher Salaries
The minister said that any increase in teacher salaries will also be received by other public service workers.
Motshekga also revealed the Department of Basic Education (DBE) anticipates that a high number of new teachers will enter the profession. To prepare for this, the DBE will intensify the roll-out of a comprehensive induction programme.
This comprehensive induction programme provides a holistic approach to supporting new teachers, This includes support for personal development and providing them with professional and social support.
This induction programme will ensure a smooth assimilation of young teachers into the system.
Research indicates that 50% of teachers currently working in South Africa will retire by 2030. To combat this, universities must double their current output of teaching graduates to combat a looming teacher shortage.
The DBE says the average overall attrition rate of teachers in public schools ranges between 3%-5% which they argue is relatively low by international standards.
However, the DBE acknowledged that research deals with a looming wave of teacher retirements.
South Africa's universities appear prepared to deal with the retirement of teachers, and that university output is on a sound trajectory and should be able to deal with a demand for a larger workforce
The department committed to working with stakeholders to address challenges this may cause but say the research indicates that universities can deal with the demand for graduates.
