Almost 3‚000 teachers in the Eastern Cape are teaching subjects for which they are not qualified‚ with Nelson Mandela Bay schools hosting more than 250 of them.
More than 260 teachers in the province are not qualified to teach at all.
This is according to education MEC Mandla Makupula‚ who was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MPL Edmund van Vuuren.
The province’s 51‚545 teachers include 2‚727 teachers in grades 10 to 12 who are teaching subjects they are not qualified to teach‚ while 264 are not qualified to teach at all.
The three most prevalent subjects in which unqualified teachers are instructing are languages (997 teachers)‚ maths (546) and science (437).
The Bay teaching district ranked fourth out of 12 for the most teachers – 253 – not qualified to teach their subjects. In OR Tambo Inland the number is 256‚ in Buffalo City 307 and‚ at the top‚ Alfred Nzo West at 310.
Van Vuuren described the situation‚ after he received a response in August‚ as irresponsible and completely unacceptable. “The blame cannot be placed on the unqualified teachers‚ though‚” he said.
“Many of these teachers work tirelessly and do the best that they can for learners‚ but are placed in positions by the department to teach subjects they are not qualified to teach.”
-Tremaine Van Aardt
