Teacher Challenges Put Under The Spotlight
Teachers, who shape and nurture the brains of the next generation, play a crucial role in our society, but they also face a number of difficulties in doing so. At a recent gathering with stakeholders, these issues were discussed.
Last week, the first Teacher Development Conference was held in Gauteng by the South African Council of Educators (SACE). “Teaching profession in our hands, our voices, and plight matter” was the conference’s slogan.
At the conference, educators from all around the nation came together to discuss the difficulties that the teaching profession is now facing.
“Teachers may influence conversations and find solutions that progress the profession by taking charge of their profession and speaking up.”
SACE CEO Ella Mokgalane said teachers were excited about the conference with stakeholders as it allowed them to raise their concerns and ensure their voices are heard.
Teachers are thrilled because they can speak up as a group in one space and tell themselves in council as well as the Minister of Basic Education that these are the difficulties affecting us in the classroom at the core stage of the teaching profession.
Teachers are reportedly quite concerned about the rise in violence against them, according to Mokgalane. Teachers were moved by this to contact SACE and request the introduction of a policy to guarantee that teachers are safe from violent crimes.
According to Mokgalane, it’s crucial for educators to uphold the moral requirements of their line of work. Just a few weeks prior, it was made public that SACE had received reports of hundreds of sexual misconduct instances in the previous three fiscal years.
Between the 2019–2020 fiscal year and the 2021–2022 fiscal year, the council received reports of more than 450 instances of sexual misconduct. 35 instructors had their positions permanently terminated, and 43 teachers were found guilty of sexual abuse out of the cases of sexual misconduct that were reported to the department.
By ensuring that all instructors are properly registered and by offering a code of ethics, SACE seeks to improve the status of the teaching profession.
They are in charge of overseeing and running the CPTD system, which stands for Continuous Professional Teacher Development.
As part of its quality monitoring function, they endorse professional development activities, programs, and providers as well as grant approval.
