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At the end of 2021, the South African Council for Educators published its annual report to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education. The comprehensive report outlined the challenges that the Council faced during the 2020/2021 financial year, its performance and its expenditure. It also outlined a few key factors that were of particular relevance to South African educators who may be interested in getting an overview of the progress of the Continuing Professional Teacher Development system.
Key Takeouts
1) The outbreak of COVID19 posed a threat to the efficient administrative and service capabilities of SACE. This was illustrated by the following findings:
- The Council’s overall performance in rolling out its various programmes declined by 12% when compared to the previous year. This was due in part to internal systems and processes that were inadequare in mitigating the effects of the pandemic on the schooling system.
- 60285 registrations were processed. These consisted of provisionally registered student teachers, newly qualified educators updating from provisional to full registration status, and other categories of registration.
- Only 13 applicants out of the 60285 registrations were found to have criminal records in terms of the following areas (assault, murder, theft/fraud, substance abuse, shoplifting and drunken driving).
2) The CPTD programme performed relatively poorly during the assessed period, mainly due to the unavailability of educators and their acute focus on curriculum recovery, which was greatly affected by lockdown regulations. This was illustrated by the following findings:
- The annual planned target in terms of the percentage of selected practicing signed-up educators verified for the CPTD uptake was 40%. The actual achievement of the Council was just over 7%.
- The target percentage of signed up final year initital teacher education students was 65%. The actual achievement was 25.7%.
Signs of progress were however seen in terms of the approved and endorsed percentage of professional development providers:
- The target for provider approvals was 70%. The actual achievement was 100%.
- The target for provider activity endorsements was 80%. The actual achievement was 100%.
- The last two quarters of 2021/2022 have seen some reasonable improvement
in terms of overachieving some of the indicator targets and aligning with the
performance information framework
What’s next for South African educators and their professional development?
The effect of the pandemic on the South African schooling system as a whole, cannot be underestimated. Unfortunately, the knock-on effect of the disruption meant that educators had less time to focus on their professional development, and the Council struggled to meet its administrative targets. A remedial action plan has been put in place to remedy this in the 2022 financial year. A vast improvement is expected on all fronts as the schooling system finds its feet in the post-COVID context.
How we can help you
Although the Council plays a key role in the administering and facilitation of the CPTD system, you are responsible for your own professional development journey.
Our experience in working with teachers from various backgrounds, levels of education and regions has demonstrated the value of being proactive and taking the necessary measures to use training as a career building tool.
Our biggest success stories are educators who have used the CPTD system to improve their performance as educators by actively pursuing opportunities to learn, applying these lessons and building a professional development record that speaks to their eagerness to develop along professional lines.
We provide a number of services for schools and educators. Whether you need assistance with navigating the SACE CPTD system or with obtaining the necessary safety and security checks, our team is trained to provide you with expert advice and efficient service.
Have a question or comment? Connect with us — we’re always to keen to hear from you.
