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In the World Economic Forum Financial Development report released yesterday, South Africa placed stone last for the quality of our math and science education. We ranked 62nd out of the 62 countries surveyed.

The significant reason for this is because we are not producing enough quality teachers, particularly in maths and science.

All South African children must be equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to compete in a modern economy.

First and foremost, we need to produce enough quality teachers. Every year, we lose between 20 000 and 30 000 teachers; our education system however only produces 10 000 new teachers a year at present.

We therefore face a crippling teacher shortage. The shortfall in teachers is especially severe in key subject areas like maths and science, impeding the education system’s ability to produce young people with the skills we need to grow the economy.

A significant challenge is that the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) primary teacher-attraction tool, the Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme, is failing. Funza Lushaka is meant to attract young people to the teaching profession by offering bursary-for-work agreements.

Every year approximately 10 000 Funza Lushaka bursaries are awarded. Recipients of the bursaries are then required to teach at a public school for the same number of years for which they receive the bursary.

Poor planning has seen this resource fundamentally under-utilised. Very few of the bursars graduate timeously and even fewer actually become teachers.

In 2012, only 26.5% of the graduated bursars were actually placed as teachers at public schools. This year the DBE expects only 2 837 students to qualify, approximately 31% of the intake four years previously. The placement rate, as history suggests, will be far lower.

It is unacceptable to have unemployed teaching graduates while our education system has large numbers of teacher vacancies. It not only means that Funza Lushaka is wastefully inefficient, but it also undermines the quality of education our children are receiving. The status quo can no longer be tolerated.

The DA therefore today proposes a set of reforms <Democratic Alliance press statement by Annette Lovemore MP DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education  The DA’s plan to increase the number of quality teachers  1 November 2012 Release: immediate  Note to editors: The following statement was distributed at a press conference held in Parliament today by DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education, Annette Lovemore MP, and DA National Spokesperson, Mmusi Maimane.  In the World Economic Forum Financial Development report released yesterday, South Africa placed stone last for the quality of our math and science education. We ranked 62nd out of the 62 countries surveyed.   The significant reason for this is because we are not producing enough quality teachers, particularly in maths and science.  All South African children must be equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to compete in a modern economy.  First and foremost, we need to produce enough quality teachers. Every year, we lose between 20 000 and 30 000 teachers; our education system however only produces 10 000 new teachers a year at present.   We therefore face a crippling teacher shortage. The shortfall in teachers is especially severe in key subject areas like maths and science, impeding the education system’s ability to produce young people with the skills we need to grow the economy.   A significant challenge is that the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) primary teacher-attraction tool, the Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme, is failing. Funza Lushaka is meant to attract young people to the teaching profession by offering bursary-for-work agreements.   Every year approximately 10 000 Funza Lushaka bursaries are awarded. Recipients of the bursaries are then required to teach at a public school for the same number of years for which they receive the bursary.   Poor planning has seen this resource fundamentally under-utilised. Very few of the bursars graduate timeously and even fewer actually become teachers.   In 2012, only 26.5% of the graduated bursars were actually placed as teachers at public schools. Thi>  for the DBE’s Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme.  This programme can be utilised to produce at least 10 000 new teachers every year on its own. It would mean introducing approximately 10 000 new teachers into the system every year instead of the current approximately 2 000 per year.

Funza Lushaka cannot address our teacher shortfall single-handedly. If managed efficiently and effectively, however, it can go a long away towards alleviating the teacher shortage crisis and producing the quality teachers our learners and this country needs.

The DA’s proposals are as follows:

Strategic assessment of demand through accurate data: We propose a networked data capturing system in every province that all schools can access through the internet. Those schools that do not have the e-technology must be assisted by district offices to upload information. The system must capture learner and teacher information per school and geographical area and be updated at the start, middle and end of the year. Currently the DBE cannot produce accurate and useful enough data to track Funza Lushaka effectively.

Strategic recruitment and selection of students from high-demand areas: The post-graduation placement rate is very low with a key challenge being that graduates cite personal difficulties in relocating to the rural areas where they are often most needed. Aggressively recruiting students from high-demand and rural areas where they will subsequently be placed can alleviate this issue.

Comprehensive screening of applicants:  The DBE must create an in-house selection and monitoring team to screen applications vigorously. Currently the composition of the selection team is ad hoc and dependent on institutions. A DBE team must take primary responsibility in assessing candidates and utilise industry tools such as psychometric testing to assist in selections.

Improve access to quality institutions:  The DBE must assess and accredit quality tertiary institutions to train Funza Lushaka bursars. Bursars must be sent exclusively to these institutions that have been accredited.

Monitoring academic progress:  The in-house selection and monitoring team must track the academic results of all Funza Lushaka bursars to determine and facilitate academic assistance and interventions where necessary.

Smarter placement strategy:  The current model is failing to place all Funza Lushaka graduates, even as the vacancy rate continues to climb. This is attributable to the administrative difficulties associated with placing thousands of graduates in the short space of time between their graduation and the commencement of the new school year. The DBE must cooperate with provincial education departments to fill teacher vacancies as part of the post provisioning process that occurs at the end of every year, which will allow for placement in advance.  

Better post-placement retention strategies: Many teachers are leaving the teaching profession due to frustration and dissatisfaction. The Western Cape has provided an excellent model to improve its teacher retention rate. This model must be expanded to the rest of the country.

The DBE must seriously consider these proposed reforms. I will call for a meeting with the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, to discuss these proposals. I will request that the Minister convene a special task team to extensively assess the Funza Lushaka programme and consider our proposals to fix it.

Education is pivotal to redressing the social and economic legacy of apartheid. But we cannot offer decent education without enough teachers.

We will therefore submit these proposals with the utmost urgency in order to fix Funza Lushaka and to start turning the tide of the teacher crisis we face.