Question NW112 to the Minister of Basic Education
22 February 2019 - NW112
Boshoff, Ms SH to ask the Minister of Basic Education
(1)What number of newly (a) qualified teachers have (i) applied for, (ii) been granted and (iii) produced the SA Police Service (SAPS) Clearance Certificate to the SA Council of Educators (SACE) as part of the registration requirement and (b) appointed teachers in each province for the 2019 academic year are currently employed without the specified clearance certificate; (2) what (a) criteria has been set by SACE for SAPS officers to use when issuing the clearance certificate, (b) qualification is required by SAPS officers to conduct the interview and issue the certificate to an educator and (c) costs are involved for an educator applying for the certificate; (3) will it be required of teachers who are appointed to update this clearance certificate on a regular basis or is the certificate only required at the registration process; (4) on what date will the certificate be a requirement for incumbent teachers appointed by (a) the department and (b) school governing bodies? NW117E
Reply:
SACE RESPONSE
1(a)
(i) All in all, 2983 educators applied and updated their registration status from the 1st January 2019 when the requirement for the police clearance came into effect.
(ii) 2981 have been granted registration and 2 were not due to some criminal record.
(iii) 1854 produced the SAPS Clearance Certificate. 1127 were registered provisionally until the 30th June 2019, with proof of application for the SAPS Police Clearance. This move was necessitated by the slow turnaround time from the SAPS in issuing the clearance certificates and impacting negatively on the recruitment of newly qualified teachers into the schools.
1(b) SACE does not have information on the employment of newly qualified teachers.
(2) what (a) criteria has been set by SACE for SAPS officers to use when issuing the clearance certificate, (b) qualification is required by SAPS officers to conduct the interview and issue the certificate to an educator and (c) costs are involved for an educator applying for the certificate;
SACE RESPONSE
(a) As a third party, the SAPS’s Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management Centre (CR and CSMC) uses its own criteria to process and issue the clearance certificate.
(b) The police clearance certificate is issued purely on the basis of one’s criminal record from the SAPS’s Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management Centre (CR and CSMC).
(c) R114.00
(3) will it be required of teachers who are appointed to update this clearance certificate on a regular basis or is the certificate only required at the registration process;
SACE RESPONSE
In line with Council resolution, the SAPS clearance certificate is currently required for all the new registration applicants since the 01st January 2019.
(4) on what date will the certificate be a requirement for incumbent teachers appointed by (a) the department and (b) school governing bodies? NW117E
SACE RESPONSE
(4) There is no date set by Council for (a) and (b)