Limpopo Department of Education dismiss claims of teaching crisis 

MEC for Education in Limpopo, Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya has dismissed claims that thousands of vacant teaching posts put learners in the province at risk.

The DA in Limpopo have written to MEC Lerule-Ramakhanya to establish why there is such a large number of teaching vacancies in the province. The province reportedly has 4933 vacant teacher posts currently. 

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“These vacant posts deprive our learners of quality education and result in schools being overcrowded, and understaffed,” said the DA. 

“The failure of Limpopo’s Department of Education to fill vacant teaching posts weakens our entire education system. [It] negatively impacts learner’s opportunities to excel academically and significantly reduces their prospects for tertiary education and employment. Limpopo already has an expanded unemployment rate of 46,7%.”

NO TEACHING CRISIS IN LIMPOPO ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

But in a statement issued on Wednesday, the department rubbished the claims. 

“We would like to put it categorically clear that: The Minister stated that there are 31,462 teacher vacancies in the country, meaning in all PEDs,” they said. 

“The figures provided in brief were Kwazulu-Natal – 7,044, Eastern Cape – 6,111, Limpopo – 4,933. Western Cape – 4,497 and Gauteng – 3,898 to name a few.

“This information was sourced from PERSAL. The personnel salary management information system of the government, at the time the response of the Minister was crafted.”

“PERSAL recognizes vacancies as posts not occupied and posts NOT PERMANENTLY filled. This means so long as the post is not having a permanent incumbent that post will be classified by the system as vacant. Even if there is a temporary appointment against it,” the department further explained. 

“The temporary appointment is not in the post. But against the post because the temporary post is coded differently from the permanent post.

The most critical part of the Minister’s response, which the DA also conveniently ignored, is recorded as follows. “The filling of vacant posts is ongoing to ensure that there is no class without a teacher for all grades. For post-level one vacancies, schools are allowed to recruit at a local level and immediately as the vacancy occurs and make temporary appointments”.