Many Gauteng schools are experiencing a shortage of qualified teachers, the South African Teachers’ Union (SAOU) said on Wednesday.
However, the education department has rejected the statement by the teacher body, saying there is no such shortage.
SAOU provincial spokesperson Carel Cronje said an increasing number of principals are experiencing problems in finding suitable teachers.
”It is clear that the traditional pool of suitable teachers has dried up,” said Cronje.
The quality of education is directly related to the quality of teachers, Cronje added.
Gauteng education spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi said the province is not experiencing a shortage of teachers.
”We reject any insinuations that there is a shortage of educators. There are roughly 40 000 teachers in Gauteng,” said Lesufi.
The problem, Lesufi said, is not a shortage of teachers but rather a problem in planning.
”The problem of late registration in schools upsets our planning purposes,” he said.
This often leads to schools taking in more pupils than they can handle. He said that it did not necessarily mean that there is a shortage of teachers.
Merriam Risenga, principal at Mafumbuka Primary School in Soshanguve, Pretoria, said her school was not experiencing a shortage in teachers.
”We have many teachers applying for work; there aren’t enough posts,” she said. — Sapa