Question NW1536 to the Minister of Basic Education to ask the Minister of Basic Education
03 August 2020 - NW1536
Tarabella - Marchesi, Ms NI to ask the Minister of Basic Education to ask the Minister of Basic Education
(1) (a) What number of teachers have been employed and/or deployed in each province to replace teachers who (i) have become ill with Covid-19 and (ii) are currently not working due to having comorbidities and (b)(i) on what date were the specified teachers employed or deployed and (ii) what are the details of the number of such replacement teachers in each province; (2) whether the specified teachers have been employed full time or on a part-time basis in schools; if so, what is the period of their employment in each case; (3) how long does the process take to replace a teacher from the date when a teacher tests positive for Covid-19 and is unable to continue to teach, to the date a replacement is found and occupies that vacancy; (4) what is the current vacancy rate in schools in each province?
Reply:
(1) (a) Given that only few Grades or a limited number of Grades have returned to schools, there is currently no need to replace educators that have become ill due to COVID-19 (ii) a total of 811 educators were appointed in schools to replace educators due to comorbidities as at 17 July 2020. It should be noted, however, that there is currently a limited need to provide substitute educators. Only in specific cases where there is no other educator qualified in the specialisation or in case of class teaching is the substitute provided. (b) (i) The details requested are currently not available and will be requested from provinces and will be provided once obtained. (ii) The details are as follows: KwaZulu-Natal (628); Mpumalanga (8); Northern Cape (78); and Western Cape (97).
(2) All educators employed are employed on a substitute basis on a fixed term contract that is renewable based on the continued need. The details on the employment periods of the appointed teachers are not available and will be requested from provinces and submitted when they are obtained.
(3) It is expected that where the need is identified, the period should not exceed five (5) days.
(4) The following table shows the number of vacant posts per province as at the end of May 2020. The vacancies reported here are in terms of the approved post establishments. They do not include educators not at work due to comorbidities.
|
Province |
Approved Post establishment |
Number of Vacancies |
Vacancy Rate |
|
EC |
52662 |
3418 |
6.5% |
|
FS |
20238 |
715 |
3.5% |
|
GP |
59080 |
2033 |
3.4% |
|
KZN |
95492 |
4568 |
4.8% |
|
LP |
56493 |
4948 |
8.8% |
|
MP |
33968 |
1867 |
5.5% |
|
NC |
9149 |
610 |
6.7% |
|
NW |
25863 |
838 |
3.2% |
|
WC |
28947 |
466 |
1.6% |
|
Tot |
381892 |
19463 |
5.1% |
Source: Persal May 2020