Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon chairperson of the portfolio committee, hon members, honoured guests, and ladies and gentlemen, many people attest to the vital roles that teachers play in the lives of the learners in their classrooms and the delivery of the curriculum. They are best known for the role of educating the students that are placed in their care. Beyond that, teachers set the learning tone in classrooms, build a warm environment, mentor and nurture learners, become role models, and look and listen for signs of barriers that may hamper learning. Moreover, the teacher must be able to handle the dynamism that flows from the diversity of learners, either in learning abilities or in culture.
In essence, teachers are more than just figures who stand in front of learners. Teaching, according to scholars, should be a combination of information-dispensing, custodial child care and sorting out academically inclined students from others. Therefore, teaching needs a combination of different disciplines that a teacher must master. The disciplines must be prepared at the training recruitment level and where they are lacking, they must be imparted. All these aspects must be factored into the ambit of professionalism and accountability, which our teachers must display at all times.
Therefore my speech will discuss the issues of teacher recruitment and professional development initiatives.
Qhwaban' izandla. [Kwaqhwatywa.] [Kwahlekwa.] [Uwelewele.] [Please give a round of applause.] [[Applause.] [Laughter.] [Interjections.]
We want to commend the collaboration and co-operation between the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education and Training. This collaboration is twofold - funding and teacher education. In regard to funding, we commend the Department of Basic Education for the target it has set for 2012 to 2013, that it needs to have 6 800 newly- qualified teachers, aged 30 years and below, entering the Public Service as teachers.
The department also has as a target that 11 500 new bursaries are awarded to students enrolled for initial teacher education. The Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme is proving to be bearing fruit, with over R462 million allocated, benefiting over 16 000 beneficiaries between 2007 and 2010. In 2011 alone, bursaries were awarded to 8 068 recipients. The recruitment drive for the department will further be intensified by the fact that R671 million has been allocated for the Funza Lushaka Bursary scheme for 2011-12.
Qhwaban' izandla. [Please give a round of applause.] [Laughter.] [Applause.]]
We are happy that the Department of Higher Education and Training is coming on board to fund students through a ring-fenced fund at a cost of R101 million, through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
The approved Long-Term Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa, 2011 to 2025, promises that its implementation will provide more strategic direction and key activities to ensure that an expanded and accessible formal teacher education system is established to ensure an adequate supply of quality teachers for the schooling system.
We are happy that the Department of Higher Education and Training has kept its promise. This was that a fully developed plan for the expansion of teacher education to enable teachers to be produced for all sectors - including further training and education colleges, adult education and training centres and other postschool institutions - will be developed and costed during the 2012-13 financial year.
At the moment we are also seeing the allocated funding bolstered by the announcement that three teacher training colleges will be opened in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga to train foundation phase teachers. [Applause.] This will go a long way in addressing the foundation phase teacher shortage.
However, we need to indicate that the shortage of maths, science and technology teachers may turn out to be a problem. Currently, we recruit teachers from other countries who have academic degrees, and therefore lack general teaching methods. The President's call is for us to invest in producing more teachers who can teach maths, science and African languages.
The other challenge is the placement of such teachers when they complete their studies. The Department of Basic Education has shown that the number of teachers placed in posts, as at 2009, stood at 2 907, which was 79% of teachers who graduated. We therefore propose that provinces be assisted with placements of such teachers, as we may lose them to other sectors.
We also think that the advocacy of bursaries in rural areas and the outcome assessment of the bursary scheme, to see if it is responding to the shortage of maths and science teachers, must be intensified.
The ANC-led government, in its election manifesto, considers our teachers to be assets of our education system. For the teachers who are already in the system there was a commitment to raising the status of teachers through better in-service training, which will result in more motivated and capable teaching in South Africa.
There has been criticism of the content and knowledge gap among our teachers, particularly in maths and science. In rural areas our children have to contend with unqualified and underqualified educators.
Kwiimeko ezinje ngezi, alikho ithemba lokuba iziphumo ingaba zezincumisayo. [There is no hope for positive results in situations such as these ones.]
The shortage of maths and science teachers has led to learners' choosing subjects that do not help admission to further education. Hon members, you have seen what apartheid education has done to our country. On this podium and on this platform, I say that is exactly the legacy that we will continue to be dealing with as South Africans.
We are happy that the department, in its action plan, has noted that teachers who are already in the system require continuous assistance to improve their capabilities and confidence in their profession.
The fact that the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill has given the SA Council for Educators, Sace, a responsibility to oversee the Continuing Professional Teacher Development, CPTD, signals progress in regard to centralising all the teacher development initiatives. However, we are still waiting for Sace to finalise this pilot project and the necessary processes in regard to the CPTD, so that all the implementation processes are co- ordinated.
The other call is to make school management more effective. We need school management teams that will ensure that teaching and learning take place. We need school management teams that understand their responsibilities and roles. We need school management teams that promote harmony and respect for duty in schools. The reality these days is that there are great divisions between school management teams and the staff. [Interjections.]
Finally, we encourage teachers to honour teaching and its related call to duty. We encourage those who are doing well to keep doing so, while those who are demoralised should see the bigger picture and change their mindset. Our belief is that the 2012 budget will go a long way in addressing these challenges.
We also salute the ANC-led government for their visionary and liberating approach to extricating our country from the vagaries of colonial and apartheid education.
Yidlan' ihabile ningophusi! [Kwaqhwatywa.] [Keep up the good work and do not lose hope. [Applause.]] The ANC supports the Budget Vote. [Applause.]