WENDY MOTHATA|

THE Western Cape premier Alan Winde and Finance and Economic Opportunities Minister Mireille Wenger have launched a brand new Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) qualification through the premier’s council on skills.

The qualification is aimed, among others, to decisively tackle the country’s energy crisis.

The qualification is being rolled out at several Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, including West Coast College and False Bay College, in the Western Cape.

These institutions – with the help of the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services SETA (merSETA) and the South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (SARETEC) – have developed the training infrastructure needed to teach and equip learners with the necessary SPV skills so they can contribute to push for a green economy and ultimately end mass power cuts.

“It is an appropriate time too for the Premier’s Council on Skills (PCS) to forge ahead with its mandate of promoting skills development, generally and specifically in the field of renewable energy,” said the premier’s spokesperson, Regan Thaw.

Premier Wide was thrilled to have the PCS help launch the innovative and unique Solar Photovoltaic Technician-ICT4APP qualification pilot project.

“The skills we grow today, must make an impact tomorrow. It’s critical to get the province’s skills mix right so as to get the investment mix right, and to get the entrepreneurial skills right,” said Winde.

Among the aims of the project is to help employers make informed decisions regarding hosting a learner and supporting the supply of technical skills in the sector.

“This is the first digital learning experience designed to incorporate the latest online technologies, while also guiding learners through practical training and eventually into the workplace,” said Thaw.

The programme is unique:
• It is based on a repackaged digital teaching and learning pathway;
• Knowledge components are completed online;
• When assessments show a sufficient theoretical grasp, learners are then invited to practical
workshop training;
• Practical skills training takes place at an approved TVET institution equipped with technical
mentorship expertise;
• Once these skills are mastered, learners are then invited to approved workplaces to complete
their training.

There are numerous benefits to taking part in this pilot:

• Learners are “work-ready” before the first workplace assignment; and able to contribute to the
business;
• Learners benefit from high-quality teaching in the latest PV technology infrastructure;
• Learners are paid the same daily stipend through the merSETA-ICT4APP on a weekly basis while
in the workplace. This is not the responsibility of the employer and so reduces administrative overheads
for the employer;
• Employers receive a “hosting stipend”.

The project’s environmentally friendly focus is the fact that it is paperless and entirely digital-based.

Wenger said that solar PV forms part of the Western Cape Government’s drive toward a green economy.

“We have a strong green economy ecosystem; we are working hard to cultivate this. Building energy resilience is a key priority, not only because we need to mitigate the effects of load shedding and the resulting economic damage, but because of the immense potential this sector has to attract investment, grow our regional economy and create jobs,” said Wenger.

“SPV has become a cost-effective, carbon-free, and sustainable form of electricity generation for businesses and households; and so we must ensure that we have in place the right skills pipelines so that the renewable energy sector can thrive in the Western Cape.”

Winde further urged employers to consider joining this pilot project to enhance their businesses and help in overcoming the power crisis, while at the same time offering learners employment and a brighter future.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Robyn Tyler, Brian Ramadiro, Carolyn McKinney and Dr Xolisa Guzula

FROM the fourth year of schooling, the majority of South African schools teach all subjects in English only. The devastating learning consequences of this for children who speak African languages at home have been compellingly captured in the documentary film Sink or Swim. These consequences include lack of conceptual understanding and little identification with the content.

In South Africa there are 12 official languages, including South African sign language. The constitution allows that any of these languages may be used as a medium of instruction in schools. But only English, and in a minority of schools Afrikaans, is used and resourced beyond Grade 3.

Only 9% of the population speak English as a home language and the majority of these speakers are white. This means that the school children who were advantaged during apartheid are still advantaged today. Therefore the Bua-Lit language and literacy collective, of which we are members, has described the language policy in action in South African schools as racist.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s announcement in parliament on 9 March 2022 that indigenous African languages will be used as languages of instruction beyond Grade 3 is therefore very heartening. No implementation details have been given yet.

The department’s decision is based on a pilot project in the Eastern Cape province using mother-tongue based bilingual education as a model. The pilot initiated the use of Sesotho and isiXhosa as languages of instruction in Grade 4 in 2012 and in 2020 the maths, physical science and history exam papers were available in Sesotho and isiXhosa as well as English. In 2019 Grade 6 learners involved in the bilingual pilot scored on average 28 percentage points higher in natural science and technology than their English-only counterparts.

The Department of Basic Education’s announcement has had a mixed reception, with commentators debating whether African language medium of instruction can work.

But the bilingual aspect of the Department of Basic Education’s project is getting lost in the debate. And the fact that the majority of South African teachers already teach bilingually is unacknowledged. They do so illicitly, in the form of oral “code-switching” between the African language(s) used by the children and English as the official language of learning and teaching. Decades-long research into code-switching has shown it can be effective in South African classrooms.

But code-switching is not supported by bilingual materials or assessments and is often frowned upon by department officials. This is because of fears that English will be compromised as well as colonial ideas about African languages being irrelevant for use in education.

The new move by the Department of Basic Education is an opportunity to acknowledge, strengthen, and importantly, resource these bilingual practices.

Bilingual education for who?

In South Africa, bilingual education is associated historically with the education of white children. During apartheid, Afrikaans and English were the two official languages, with the goal that all white South Africans would become bilingual in these languages.

Bilingual education was implemented in different ways. It was common to use one language as the medium of instruction and teach the second as a subject. There were also schools that used both Afrikaans and English as languages of instruction for different classes in the same grade.

In “dual medium” schools the teacher used both English and Afrikaans to teach, and learners could choose the language of assessment. Dual medium bilingual schools continue to be highly successful in producing bilingual speakers of English and Afrikaans.

Until now, bilingual education at scale using any of the nine official African languages and English as dual languages of instruction has not been available for children.

Language policy and multilingual teaching

Schools need assistance to develop language policies that support bilingual or multilingual education. One size will most definitely not fit all schools in a richly multilingual and diverse society.

For example, in many schools in the rural Eastern Cape where isiXhosa is dominant, it is feasible to implement a bilingual model using isiXhosa and English. Bilingual teachers can teach using both languages – as they currently do unofficially – and use textbooks written in both.

A school with learners from multiple language backgrounds in a more diverse urban setting like Soweto will need a different approach making use of translanguaging. Translanguaging involves the fluid use of more than one language to communicate. For example, children can be grouped according to their dominant languages when solving a maths problem or translating a poem. Or they can work in mixed language groups to produce multilingual science definitions. The goal is to support deep learning in content subjects as well as to increase competence in all the languages used in the classroom (including English).

Multilingual materials and assessments

A major challenge for learning in South Africa has been the lack of availability of materials in languages other than English and Afrikaans beyond Grade 3. As with classroom methodology, there is a wide range of approaches to learning materials that can support bilingual or multilingual education. For example, bilingual textbooks have been successfully developed in Rwanda.

The same textbook can be available in more than one language. The two languages can be in parallel (all the text is available in two languages) in one textbook. Or a more flexible approach can be used where different aspects of the text, such as glossaries, are available in different languages.

An example of this is iSayensi Yethu (Our Science), which has been developed in English and isiXhosa. Subject-specific dictionaries can also be excellent learning resources, for example one developed at the University of Cape Town and one developed by the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa.

Final school-leaving exams have been available only in English and Afrikaans, with the exception of the isiXhosa exam pilot in the Eastern Cape in 2020. Bilingual assessments in English and an African language have been trialled and proven to be successful in the Western Cape province and in Zimbabwe. Again, a diversity of approaches is preferable.

Teacher training

Successful implementation depends on preparing teachers for bilingual education. The pioneering bilingual university teacher education programmes at South Africa’s University of Fort Hare and Nelson Mandela University have begun this work, which can be expanded to other universities. Practising teachers will need appropriate materials as well as in-service education that builds on their existing bilingual practices.

Bilingual education is possible for all South Africa’s children. With a multi-pronged approach to implementation as outlined here, bilingual models will contribute to the goal of decolonising the country’s schooling system.

THE CONVERSATION

THE University of Cape Town’s online high school says it will offer an additional curriculum in the form of the Cambridge Assessment International Education, priced at R3,300 per month.

The UCT Online High School ecosystem was designed to service South African learners from a broad range of socioeconomic means.

It offers a CAPS-aligned curriculum, which enables learners in grades 8-11 in any corner of the globe the opportunity to study at a monthly fee of R2,195 per month, making it one of the most affordable private schools in the country. Grade 12 will be offered from 2023.

“Cambridge International is one of the world’s most prestigious international curriculums, recognised by over 2,000 tertiary institutions worldwide, including all major local universities,” UCT said.

The qualification will find its roots in Africa through UCT, with plans to expand to the rest of the continent in time.

“With nearly a million learners in 10,000 schools in 160 countries, a Cambridge International qualification is a powerful global passport to the future. As the most affordable fully accredited Cambridge International school in Africa, UCT Online High School is proud to be able to offer this qualification to learners in South Africa and beyond.

“Starting with South Africa’s closest neighbours, they aim to expand their reach to the rest of the African continent in the near future.”

In addition to the Cambridge International qualification, the UCT Online High School is to launch an adult matric programme, offered fully online, and part-time.

“At any given time, there are about 250,000 people working towards a matric certificate outside the full-time, in-school system. Since an average of 800,000 candidates write matric examinations each year, this means that about a third of the total matric cohort are ‘on the fringe’ or ‘non-traditional’ learners,” UCT said.

“A matric certificate can transform young and old people’s futures alike, by signalling their knowledge and skills to employers, creating pathways to further education, and ultimately improving their chances of finding work, keeping a job, and earning a higher salary.”

UCT launched its Online High School in 2022, becoming the first university in the country and on the continent to extend its services to the secondary schooling market online.

The school is purpose-built to allow South African learners to work towards their National Senior Certificate from anywhere in the
country.

As part of its initial offering, it also launched UCT Online High School’s Free Curriculum, which is a free
online school platform that allows any guardian, learner or educator to access their full CAPS (National
Senior Certificate) curriculum.

The school says it has processed 5,000 CAPS learners do date.

BUSINESS TECH

The Ministers of Basic Education and Minerals and Energy have officially unveiled a newly built world-class Waterkloof Hills Combined School in the mining community of Rustenburg, North West.

This comes after Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) and the North West Department of Education (NWDoE) entered into an agreement in 2019, on an equal financial contribution basis, to construct a much-needed primary and secondary school to the tune of R140 million.

According to the departments, R58 million went to local sub-contractors, while R7.3 million was spent on local suppliers.

The two schools are located within the Waterkloof Hills Estate, RBPlat’s flagship employee housing development that offers employees family housing in a secure lifestyle estate.

Minerals and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, has described the school that prides itself on 32 smart classrooms, a multi-function room and science laboratories, as a state-of-the-art project.

“The infrastructure helps develop children and transform the future of our country,” he said on Friday.

The school will be a new home to 2 155 learners, 1 280 in primary and 875 in secondary school.

Additional school facilities include a 1 100 capacity school hall, 256 parking bays, a security gate, sports fields, libraries, sickrooms and dining halls.

“In the mining industry, we have something called a Social and Labour Plan, a concept of mining companies investing where mining companies operate. It’s a fee they pay for their survival and protection, and not a favour,” he explained.

Mantashe encouraged other mining companies to follow RBPlat’s example, invest in meaningful projects and pay for their “social licence” to communities where they extract minerals.

“We must change the view that all mining companies do is leave big holes in the ground and disappear. What we are dealing with in Krugersdorp is the legacy of mining, where mines leave holes and now have no owners, and we as the department, must seal those holes.”

However, according to Mantashe, it is high time mines do better.

“A project must have an impact on a community. We make that point because we saw a trend where companies were building small community halls and disappear. It doesn’t make an impact,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, the Department of Basic Education said it welcomes the construction of Waterkloof Hills Combined School, as it ensures that the infrastructural improvements are in line with norms and standards.

RBPlat CEO, Steve Phiri, said the schools will not only serve their employees’ children but also those who live in the surrounding communities.

“Our purpose has always been to create economic value that can be shared with all our stakeholders and this project offers a legacy of sustainable benefits, through quality education, for the next generation of leaders in our communities,” said Phiri.

Meanwhile, North West Department of Education MEC, Mmaphefo Matsemela, said she believes that it takes a village to raise a child.

“It means that we cannot succeed alone and without the involvement of all other stakeholders. We are extremely grateful for the RBPlat partnership, which reflects a good example of a successful public-private partnership, which is always encouraged by government,” she said.

SA NEWS

ORLA QUINTAN

The UK government’s announcement of a new work visa option aimed at attracting top graduates has elicited some backlash because the list of eligible institutions features no universities from Africa, Latin America or South Asia. The Conversation Africa’s Nontobeko Mtshali asked Orla Quinlan, Director of Internationalisation at Rhodes University in South Africa, to share her thoughts on the implications such visa programmes have for international integration and intercultural efforts in higher education.

What has the UK government announced?

The UK government recently introduced a new “High Potential Individual” short-term work visa. Home Secretary Priti Patel said the intention was put “ability and talent first” – not where people come from.

The conditions of the high potential individual visa allow a stay of two or three years in the UK for graduates holding a master’s degree or a PhD, respectively. This visa can’t be extended, but holders may apply for longer-term visas.

Applicants need to have financial resources to acquire the visa and to sustain themselves while searching for employment. The high potential individual visa doesn’t pertain to international students who are already registered at universities in the UK.

But the visa is restricted to graduates from specific universities featuring in the top 50 places of two international university rankings.

Who is eligible?

The most recent list of eligible universities comprised more than two dozen US universities. Other institutions are in Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and Sweden.

Each of these universities appeared in at least two of the following ranking systems: the Times Higher Education world university rankings, the Academic Ranking of World Universities and the Quacquarelli Symonds world university rankings.

African universities don’t appear in the top 50 of any of these ranking systems. The criteria they use consider aspects like the university’s research output, high achieving academics and alumni, reputation among employers, and international student ratio.

The performance of individual students isn’t a criterion in any of these rankings.

Ranking systems are commercial entities. While deeply flawed, they play an increasing role in shaping opinions about the quality of tertiary education institutions. But many universities that don’t feature in rankings graduate students who excel in their individual performances. The ranking systems are already heavily contested. To only correlate high performing individuals with specific universities is unscientific. Rankings have little to do with individual performance.

If any ranking system has to be used, it’s been suggested that the Impact Rankings produced by Times Higher Education might be more appropriate. This measures universities’ impacts on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. At least, this ranking is more inclusive of global South universities.

What does this tell us about inequality in higher education?

Attending the highly ranked eligible institutions requires the means to pay for fees, accommodation and living costs. For example, almost all the US institutions on the list are private colleges that charge high fees. Many high-performing students from the global South can’t afford to attend. Many brilliant students will, therefore, never be eligible to access the high potential individual visa.

Universities from Latin America, Africa and most of Asia aren’t on the list of eligible universities. It’s not even possible for many universities to meet the specific criteria chosen. This exclusion sends a negative message.

The high potential individual visa shows short-sightedness about the experience, insights and skills that graduates from the global South could bring to the UK. Many individuals demonstrate high achievement outcomes, in spite of operating in under-resourced universities. This is due to their resilience and grit – the strongest predictor of success, according to the studies of American scholar Angel Lee Duckworth.

Should something change?

Countries are entitled to make their own decisions. But some countries are making short-term populist decisions, rather than longer term strategic decisions for the benefit of their own citizens and the world.

The world needs to build relationships for future global collaboration. We need to create, share and disseminate knowledge – a key lesson of the COVID pandemic. Mobility of higher education students needs to continue. These mobile students need prospects in the countries where they study, as one option, to circulate the global pool of talent.

The claim from Priti Patel that this visa “puts ability and talent first – not where someone comes from” doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. The UK is offering an elite visa for well-off graduates from elite institutions to come and stay temporarily in the UK for two to three years.

The call from Rishi Sunak, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, for students to “take advantage of this incredible opportunity to forge their careers here” is hardly realistic. A visa of this duration is simply not long enough to genuinely forge a career beyond an initial experience.

Any person who has just arrived in a new country still has to acclimatise to the culture, find a job and develop relationships before they can start to contribute.

What are the implications for higher education?

The high potential individual visa isn’t particularly going to affect the mobility of students to, and from Africa’s higher education sectors because it’s a work – not a study – visa. But it’s a troubling manifestation of a changing value system which is increasingly exclusionary, elitist and undermining of diversity.

Higher education in Africa is acutely aware of its local challenges. These include the impact of structural social and economic inequality, environmental degradation and climate change in African countries. We know that we cannot have global peace and security if we don’t improve education and job opportunities for all. That is why African universities are concerned with higher education being relevant and solving real problems by connecting our research, teaching and learning and community engagement and sharing our knowledge with the world.

(Orla Quinlan, Director Internationalisation., Rhodes University)

THE CONVERSATION

THE Department of Basic Education was asked to identify the top-performing schools in every province in South Africa, and identified over 320 and public and private schools that attained a 100% pass rate in the 2021 National Senior Certificate exams.

Responding to parliamentary Q&A this week, the department split the top performers across English-speaking, Afrikaans-speaking and dual-medium schools.

According to the department, most of the top-performing schools are English-speaking, making up 212 of the total identified. There were 57 Afrikaans medium schools, and 55 dual-medium schools identified.

While the department identified 324 schools that had an exceptional performance in the 2021 matric exams, its assessment report goes even further and lists the schools that have put in a consistently perfect performance over the last five years.

Here, it listed 91 schools that have attained a 100% matric pass rate since 2017.

Most of the schools are located in the country’s biggest economic centres in Gauteng (25 schools), KwaZulu-Natal (22 schools) and Cape Town (22 schools), with the Free State also featuring a large number of schools (14).

The North West has four schools in the perfect ranking, followed by the Eastern Cape with two, and Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape with one school each.

No schools from Limpopo feature on the list.

Of all the schools that managed to maintain a perfect matric pass rate for five years, Phumanyova High in Zululand, KZN, had the highest number of matriculants in 2021, with all 350 learners who sat the exams passing.

This was followed by Hoërskool Waterkloof in Tshwane, Gauteng, with 316 learners, and Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool in the same region, with 249.

BUSINESS TECH

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA|

IT has been a tragic start to Women’s Month. Last week, we were once more confronted with the dark and ugly side of our society.

On Thursday, a group of men and women shooting a music video at a disused mine near Krugersdorp were attacked by armed assailants who gang raped eight of the women.

These horrible acts of brutality are an affront to the right of women and girls to live and work in freedom and safety.

While they pursue the suspects in this crime, the South African Police Service must also pay immediate attention to the concerns of the community of West Village, where the incident occurred, who say they are under siege from armed gangs in the area.

Rapists have no place in our society. We call upon communities to work with the police to ensure that these criminals are apprehended and prosecuted. Our communities must not shelter criminals in their midst.

There is always someone in our communities who knows something, who heard something or who even witnessed something. The problem is many of us choose to keep quiet because the perpetrator is a friend, a partner or a colleague. Or we are just afraid and fear victimisation. It is important to remember that all tip-offs received by the SAPS Crime Stop contact centre are treated confidentiality.

I call on anyone who has information about this crime to report it to the authorities so the perpetrators can be arrested.

Given the size of this problem in our country, it is no longer possible to avoid responsibility for reporting sex crimes.

According to a new legal provision that came into effect yesterday, 31 July 2022, in addition to our moral obligation, we all now have a legal duty to report to authorities when we have knowledge, reasonable belief or suspicion that a sexual offence has been committed against a vulnerable person. It is now a crime not to report such a sexual offence.

This is part of one of three laws that I signed earlier this year that strengthen the fight against gender-based violence and offer greater support and protection to survivors.

Among other things, the laws expand the scope of the National Register of Sex Offenders, strengthen the vetting process, and introduce additional categories of sex offences.

Processes are underway to put these laws into effect. These include training of prosecutors and magistrates, issuing directives on bail to all SAPS officials, and revising charge sheets to include the newly created offences.

We are determined that all these building blocks are in place so that our law enforcement authorities and courts can investigate and prosecute gender-based violence more effectively.

Gender-based violence and femicide is a deep-rooted societal problem.

It is not enough for perpetrators to be apprehended, tried, convicted and sentenced.

We must work together to address the drivers of gender-based violence in our communities, including patriarchal attitudes and practices.

Eradicating gender-based violence demands that we act together as a people.

This means promoting positive attitudes around gender equality in our communities, at our places of worship and in our own homes. As men, we should demonstrate our intolerance to sexism, patriarchy and gender-based violence in how we treat our partners, colleagues, mothers, sisters and daughters.

Whether as individuals, organisations, businesses or employers, we must be part of the national effort in every way we can, whether volunteering at a shelter, supporting community policing forums or joining awareness campaigns in our schools.

Just as gender-based violence is all of society’s problem, it is all of society’s responsibility to bring it to a decisive end.

We have made a start, but as the terrible crimes in Krugersdorp remind us, we need to do much more and we need to act with greater urgency and purpose.

From the desk of the President

THE ruling African National Congress (ANC) has once again reiterated calls for a comprehensive review of the education and training system in South Africa following its policy conference at the weekend.

The sixth ANC National Policy Conference was held at the NASREC Expo Centre South of Johannesburg from Friday until Sunday.

The governing party said that since 1994 the South African education system still does not foster a culture of creativity and has failed to encourage the country’s youth to pursue entrepreneurship.

The South African education system is also characterised by crumbling infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms and relatively poor educational outcomes.

The policy meeting called for the basic education sector working with the Higher Education and Training sector and the National Treasury to urgently submit a comprehensive review of the education and training system to the ANC.

The report was due for submission in April 2019.

The conference said, however, that it has noted good progress being made in the speeding up of the implementation of Operation Phakisa in Education, the Presidential Programme on ICT in schools.

Delegates said that the greatest challenges remain in rural areas where many areas do not have connectivity because of lack of ICT infrastructure and systems.

Delegates also called for the protection of public facilities and infrastructure, saying they were deeply concerned schools continue to be vandalised across the country, particularly in Eastern Cape, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

The party also said it has noted that the infrastructure programme has not performed at its best.

It also added that the Basic Education sector has not provided the ANC with details of the delivery of infrastructure against targets.

“On the average, 27 schools are delivered per annum through the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI),” said the ANC.

“The poor performance of infrastructure programmes and recurrent low expenditure have led to the decrease in budgetary allocations to
provinces.”

“At the current pace of infrastructure delivery maintenance, the current backlog of school infrastructure will not be eradicated.”

The conference also said it has noted the relocation of Early Childhood Development to the Department of Basic Education, adding that a lot of work was done, including putting systems in place to ensure that policies, laws and regulations are in place.

The transfer of the ECD from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education took place on 01 April 2022.

The conference reported that poor progress has been made by Basic Education, Departments of Social Development and Health to optimise Early Childhood Development with great emphasis on children with special needs.

INSIDE EDUCATION

ALMOST half of South Africa’s teachers are going to have to retire in the next 10 years, says Julian Hewitt, chief executive officer of the educator bursary programme, the Jake Gerwell Fellowship.

Speaking to 702, Hewitt said that the Department of Education’s payroll showed that the country’s schools are expected to run out of highly skilled teachers.

The latest Jake Gerwell Fellowship annual report shows that 45% of all government-employed teachers will retire in the next decade – pointing to a potential teacher crisis.

“At least half the teachers in South Africa are in their 50s at the moment, and the retirement age is 60, so there is a looming crisis.”

This is compounded by the other major challenge facing the industry, being that there is poor uptake in teaching as a career of choice, said Hewitt. According to the fellowship, a recent OECD survey revealed that only 49% of teachers in South Africa regard teaching as their first-choice career.

This is significantly lower than international standards, said Hewitt.

A shortage of skilled educators due to retirement was previously raised by private higher education institution, Mancosa, which said that South Africa is not graduating an adequate number of teachers to meet the supply and demand.

“More teachers are leaving than entering the profession. Currently, the country’s initial teacher institutions graduate 15,000 new teachers per year. This is below the 25,000-mark required to maintain an effective teacher-pupil ratio,” said professor Magnate Ntombela, principal of Mancosa.

“There is a dire need to find 20,000 newly-qualified teachers each year to maintain current teacher-pupil ratios,” he said.

More graduates

The Department of Basic Education has previously responded to claims of a skills crisis in teaching, saying that the number of new teaching graduates is increasing every year.

“The number of initial teacher education graduates has grown over the last 10 years from an output of about 7,973 in 2010 to 31,799 in 2020,” it said.

The 25,000 graduates mark was reached in 2017, it said, adding that the current enrolment trends point to the upward trajectory in graduation numbers.

The output of graduates is favoured towards the Senior/Further Education and Training Phases (SP/FET) – partly because the two qualification pathways allow for SP/FET to qualify through both the Bachelor of Education (BEd) and Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) while Foundation Phase (FP) is largely limited to BEd pathway, the department said.

The average teacher attrition rate over is 15,200 a year – largely due to retirement, but also because of resignations, ill health and death, the department said.

The teacher supply in terms of quantity is reasonably adequate, the department said, at least from the analysis of the situation in public education.

Earnings

The department’s latest information on how much the average teacher varies between post levels.

The lowest entry-level salary for educators that meet the minimum qualification (Relative Equivalent Qualification Value 13) or a matric pass plus three years of study is R214,908.

However, an educator who studied for four years earns R284,238 annually. This salary can increase gradually with experience and age.

According to the Department of Education, age does affect the earnings of a teacher; however, a promotion to a higher post could lead to a quicker increase in earnings.

BUSINESS TECH

SOUTH Africa needs to increase the number of researchers and technicians it has at its disposal if it wants to remain globally competitive in innovation.

This was one of the key issues raised in the 2022 South African Science, Technology And Innovation Indicators Report, published by the Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation on Friday (29 July).

Minister in charge of that department, Blade Nzimande said that the number of researchers employed in research and development (R&D) in South Africa has been on the decline since 2018, as has the number of technicians employed in R&D.

The proportion of technicians to researchers employed in R&D decreased from 32.8% in 2014/15 to 24.3% in 2019/20, and employment in R&D in the business sector declined by slightly more than one-fifth, he said.

“A critical component of a well-functioning innovation system is human capital across all the science, technology and innovation (STI) activities,” the department said.

“Previously, much of the focus was on researchers carrying out R&D activities in South Africa. However, technicians are important for the integration and translation of research ideas into demonstrators and other tangible R&D outputs. Hence, the number of researchers employed in R&D are analysed along with the technicians employed in R&D.”

The department pointed to a steady increase in researchers employed in R&D between 2010 and 2017. However, since 2017, the numbers have declined.

While South Africa’s number of researchers in 2019 (28,358) was 51.5% more than in 2010 (18,720), it said the country needs to up the number of researchers of all races to increase its innovation potential.

The upside to the latest data is that transformation is taking place in South Africa’s STI landscape, the department said.

There is an increase in the percentage of African researchers, from 26.7% in 2010 to 35.6% in 2019. However, there is a declining trend among white researchers in the country.

While the percentage of white researchers has declined, the absolute number of white researchers was in fact on the increase from 14,789 in 2010 to 15,795 in 2017. However, the numbers dropped back to 14,890 in 2018 and further to 14,224 in 2019.

The proportion of both coloured and Indian researchers increased marginally between 2010 and 2018, the department said.

When it comes to technicians, a more troubling picture emerges.

The number of technicians employed in R&D has been on the decline since 2015. As a result, the proportion of technicians to researchers has decreased from a high of 32.8% in 2014 to 24.3% in 2019.

“The decline in the percentage and number of technicians employed in R&D should be interpreted in the context of the movement of R&D in South Africa from the business sector to higher education, with more focus on basic research,” the department said.

However, even taking into account the migration from business to academics, the number of technicians employed in R&D by the higher education sector is also very low, it said.

Nzimande said that following the 2020 and 2021 Covid-19 pandemic, the country’s National System of Innovation has been “stretched to its limits”, which impacts the country’s ability to compete internationally.

“South Africa’s innovation performance is falling behind other middle-income countries with regard to outputs such as patents and high technology exports. South Africa performs better in innovation inputs than innovation outputs. Considering its level of innovation investment, the country produces few innovation outputs,” he said.

The resolve the issue, he said that his department will focus on the 2019 White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation, which aims to future-proof education and skills as one of its core pillars.

The government is trying to strengthen a future-ready workforce at both the foundational and further education levels through restructuring curriculae and introducing a broader range of subjects and courses.

BUSINESS TECH