Question NW2899 to the Minister of Basic Education

Reply:

With reference to her reply to question 940 on 14 April 2015, in which she stated that Afrikaans and SeSotho have been classified as scarce subjects at all levels in the Eastern Cape, what are the relevant details and time frames of actions that she has taken to rectify this situation?

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is working with the Eastern Cape Provincial Education Department (ECPED) to identify critical vacancies in the province through regular meetings with relevant officials. Afrikaans and SeSotho vacancies where they exist are also included in the list of critical vacancies. The DBE met with the ECPED on 05 August 2015 to adopt a plan to address the critical shortages in the province. All Districts were requested to identify, profile, and submit their vacancies to the Head Office. 577 vacancies had been identified. The Chief Financial Officer had also signed-off the list of the vacancies for the purpose of issuing a bulletin for immediate filling of the posts so that the process of filling those vacancies can ensue immediately. Once the bulletin is issued, it is expected that the identified vacancies will be filled within three months or by the end of October 2015.