The National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) is calling on the South African Council for Educators (SACE) to investigate an alleged rise in unqualified teachers working at schools.

This comes after an alarming number of reports of unqualified educators, including students hired to teach at some independent/private schools across the country.

Naptosa’s Executive Director, Basil Manuel, says, “The problem is we don’t know the numbers but certainly there are growing reports and primarily from parents of unqualified and also student teachers being employed primarily in our independent schools and this is the lower end independent schools … that doesn’t mean that governing bodies in your public schools are not doing the same. We are saying we have to protect the profession, but we also got to protect the children and the parents in extension.”

Meanwhile, Limpopo education department MEC Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya has encouraged learners at Shingwedzi High School at Madonsi-Xitasini in Malamulele to improve the matric pass rate this year.

MEC Lerule-Ramakhanya visited the school just few days before schools officially reopen.

Matric learners at the school have already started with their lessons for this year. The school got 85% pass rate after opening early in 2023.