Teacher training colleges are to be incorporated into the tertiary system
The incorporation of teacher training colleges into the tertiary system is aimed at addressing the poor quality of education in South Africa. The teaching system has been affected by rationalisation, plagued by uncertainty over redeployments and demoralised at the flight of educator’s abroad. Minister of Education Kader Asmal says the incorporation of colleges into the higher education system will improve quality and ensure educators reach the required level of professionalism.
The process of joining colleges with existing 36 higher learning institutions, began mid-1998, reached a climax last month.
However, the process has been far from smooth with the new administrators — tertiary institutions — far from happy at being forced to absorb colleges without being given additional resources.
Asmal said that the incorporation process has been difficult to manage because of the roles and responsibilities of the different parties involved.
But, the process, according to Asmal will benefit educators, who need retraining, to develop a sense of professionalism and to attract and train large numbers of new teachers to meet future demand.
He said the poor quality of training provided to teachers in many of the colleges and in some universities and technikons continues to take its toll on the profession.
Teachers, Asmal said, are ill-prepared, for example, for the massive curriculum changes that flow from Curriculum 2005, the changes in organisation that flow from the SA Schools Act and the changes in conditions of service that flow from the Employment of Educators Act.
The incorporation of colleges of education into higher education provides the institutional basis for the development of a new teacher education system. “It will enhance and strengthen the subject knowledge of teachers through building on the specialisation strengths of universities and technikons. It will also significantly reduce the costs of teacher training,” said Asmal.
Among its benefits, the incorporation will reverse the decline in enrolments, which is threatening the sustainability of critical disciplines such as history, which have traditionally relied on recruiting students intending to pursue a teaching career. The new deal will therefore not only be a lifeboat for many disciplines, but it will also keep afloat a number of our higher education institutions whose existence is threatened by declining enrolments.
Asmal plans to release a national teacher education plan in June, which will address projections for the future supply and demand of teachers, in particular, against the background of HIV/Aids, to which teachers are apparently one of the more vulnerable groups. The document will provide a basis for a major initiative to rehabilitate the public image and status of teachers.
“I am committed to mobilising resources to augment the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, specifically earmarked for teacher education as an incentive to attract young people back to teaching. In this regard, I am pleased to announce that R20-million has been earmarked for teacher education for the 2001/2002 financial year,” said Asmal.
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, March , 2001.