The Institute of Risk Management of South Africa report warned of the looming teacher shortages in the next ten years, however, this is not the first report alluding that the current teachers in the Basic Education sector are becoming of age and will need to be replaced as soonest.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga shared that there is an oversupply of teachers in other areas of learning.
Mhlanga also clarified that this shortage is only in specific areas of teaching, including Mathematics, Science, Technology, and African languages.
Fortunately, the department’s bursary programme, Funza Lushaka is designed to boost recruitment into teaching professionals in priority subject areas.
One of the conditions of this programme includes the bursary recipients teaching at public schools for the same number of years that they had received the bursary.
In December 2022, the Provincial Education Department (PEDs) report revealed 68% of teaching graduates received placement and the majority of them came from Limpopo.
Out of the 4,348 teaching students that had benefitted from this multi-year teaching programme, 1,394 individuals were unplaced. Although the Eastern Cape is the province with the second-highest number of bursary recipients, it has a high number of unplaced teaching recruits.
An amount of R1, 308, 024, 000 was allocated by the National Treasury for the Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme in 2021 and the average value of the bursary across 24 institutions of higher learning was estimated to be about R105,568 in the very same year.
In the 2022/23 financial year, the budget allocations for Funza Lushaka bursary is R1 328 953, and is expected to be a total of R1 334 160 in 2023/24. The budget allocation will receive a further increment in the future.
Who Qualifies For The Funza Lushaka Bursary?
The Funza Lushaka Bursary is awarded to South African citizens who have valid IDs and have been accepted into an appropriate field of study at a recognised institution of higher learning.
Applicants need to be committed to a professional teaching career and not have any criminal record or misconduct charges.
The teaching bursary will cover tuition fees, accommodation, meals, and a small monthly allowance for living expenses.
However, recipients must reapply for funding each academic year and are required to teach at a public school after graduation.
